This is Advent translated into hip-hop for Christians who are able to admit that we don’t always do a good job of taking up our cross to follow Jesus and want to try again to serve our king by marching for His kingdom. Lyrics are below.
Tag Archives: Rap
10 songs in 2 days on the Goodson Chapel piano
I had a bit of a creative explosion this week while I was attending the Duke Divinity Convocation so I wanted to share the fruit. Basically I wrote two raps and one praise song from Sunday evening to Tuesday afternoon. Then I played hookey from several of the lectures at the Convocation to sit down at my favorite piano in the world in Goodson Chapel and record these three songs and seven others with my iPhone propped on the music stand. The sound quality is actually not too bad. Because of time constraints, I did almost everything on the first take, mistakes and all, unless I completely shut down. So almost all the songs have two or three mistakes. Anyway I’m sharing them below. Some of them might sting a little bit because God is giving me a prophetic word to call out some things about the American church right now. As there’s always a mix of flesh and spirit, some of my cynicism and arrogance may have found its way in. That’s where I depend on you to call me out so I can refine this and make it more glorifying to God. So please critique and offer suggestions!!! (And don’t laugh too hard at the goofy expressions on my face on this page.) Continue reading
Legion (The American Exorcism): a rap
About a month ago, I wrote a blog post about a phenomenon I’m witnessing among American evangelicals that seems like a massive reenactment of Jesus’ exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac in which he casts a bunch of demons from a man into a herd of pigs who storm off a cliff and drown. As the tinfoil hat types among us get more and more obviously ridiculous and start racing towards a cliff, many of us are turning back in disgust as Jesus exorcises our demons. So this song is the rap version of that blog post, basically mixing imagery from Mark 5 with the parable of talents. Continue reading
#JesusIsMyCandidate: the rap
I made this piece while we were making Jesus trend around the world last night. Please share it with your friends if you like it. Luke 19:40. Isaiah 6:2. Isaiah 40:3. Joel 2:28.
Song: jesus is my candidate
Lyrics: Babylon is crumbling, Social nets are tumbling, Everyone is stumbling Past Italian faces that misrepresent a Jewish king Preachers writing books, getting bling Who’s in the streets with Dr. King? Did you only hear the one speech? He had a lot else to teach About the way we can each Be a servant to the least of these And I’m not trying to hate Always eaten on a silver plate Never lived the way that many people live So I hope you can forgive me ‘Cause I’m willing to learn Know that nothing I have is a grace that I’ve earned And that pride is the way that people burn. Now the fear of the Lord Is the basis for love And I’m not saying fear Of some lightning from above Because fear means awe At the beauty of God’s law Which is way more than rules Setting boundaries for the fools; But today our laws have been Shaped by Charles Darwin ‘Cause we crush the poor For the sake of the system. If the world belongs to God, What does “Thou shalt not steal” mean? Is it Jean Valjean or George Soros & 5 Keatings? But now not so fast Cause we can’t scurry past The fact that Jesus loved That woman and her perfume flask And Zacchaeus and Matthew Who were both day traders But they’re sons of David And they loved their savior So when the PC patrol heard about Jesus’ vice: “So you eat with Wall Street?” Jesus said, “Love mercy not sacrifice.”
