for Concerts and the Gospel

Victoria, Jacob and I went to the Gorge on Thursday to hear the music of 1-1-6 Clique. This group of young men, Christian Rap artists, have such a fervor for the Lord - and are using their talents to glorify Him in what most conservatives would find an unusual (and dare I say ungodly?) way. While I don't sit around listening to Christian Hip Hop all day (or even part of the day *smile*) - I have to say that this is DEFINITELY music that I absolutely do not mind my kids having as companions!

Lecrae, Flame, Trip Lee, Sho Baraka, Tedashii

1-1-6 comes from the verse Romans 1:16 which says in part, 'I'm not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ'...and their music, their message testifies to this.

Victoria chatting with Lecrae

Cheese!

I was so impressed with their message on Thursday (not just music, but some really good preaching as well!) - that we headed over to Seattle on Friday to see them again - this time on the Don't Waste Your Life tour. If that name is familiar to some of you, it is because it is the title of one of John Piper's books, which you can find in the resource section on the Desiring God site. I'm not sure exactly of the connection between Mr. Piper and 116, but the two ministries teamed together to pull off this tour. Mr, Piper's voice actually gets the show rolling.

While their songs aren't arranged with proper English or syntax (okay, so I won't be using them for our Grammar Lessons *smile*) - they do have a message that cannot be denied. None of the songs I have heard thus far from any of the artists could ever be misconstrued as to what they are singing about or Who they are singing about.

In one of Lecrae's songs he says:

We created for Him
outta the dust he made us for Him
Elects us and he saves us for Him
Jesus comes and raises for Him
Magnify the Father why bother with something lesser
he made us so we could bless Him and to the world we confess him

Sho Baraka has a song called '100' which talks about living 100% for God...here is one of the verses from that song:

Back in the year of the 2 triple 0
this random thug tried to strong arm the Sho
me and my boys on the corner just sharing our faith
this cat staring at us like he got something to say
he began to size us up acting tough talking loud
I tried to ignore him but this fool attracted a crowd
I expected some resistance but this aint what I wanted
I had 99 problems this made 100
he looked me in the face and said if you love that Christ
you'll have no problem with me sending you to see him tonight
I'm thinking option number one is we can turn the other cheek
number 2 is we can stomp his loud mouth in the street
but that's what they want to see us fail when they test us
talk a good game but then crack under pressure
so I prayed to GOD, if I have to take this
I hope out of this you would get your glory as well
so this cat stared at us for a second or two
jumped at us and smirked like I'm playing with you
we have to represent the Lord even though they were stuntin
no matter what they do we gotta keep it 100

The concert was hot! It was loud! It was smelly! Marlee wasn't feeling well...but all in all it was a grand experience. I still don't like the whole 'concert scene'. Of course, I'm bordering on the old fogey stage now, so I guess people will chalk it up to that...but truly, I never did care for the concert scene. This concert though was more than just jumping around, singing loud, and getting the crowd into a frenzy. This was a concert with a message. A message to the youth culture to not waste their life...to live 100% for God...to Go Hard for God or Go home. Between songs - and even in the middle of some songs - the music would stop and a gospel message would be delivered. The concert didn't end with flashing lights and an encore song - it ended solid on the Word of God. Throughout the evening - the crowd was directed to remember that the evening wasn't about the singers on stage - but about the King of kings. We were encouraged to spend time in the Word to get to know our Savior better.

While they aren't speaking to the culture that we are in - not a lot of 'hip hop types' here in our town...their message - the Gospel message in their music - is for everyone.

More pictures coming soon!