At Passion ’98, John Piper preached a message entitled “Did Jesus Die For Us or For God?” demonstrating from Romans 3 that Christ’s death satisfies the wrath of God because of sin.  Many have misunderstood Piper to mean that God does not make much of those who are in Christ, but Piper clarified this misunderstanding at Passion 2011 by affirming that God incredibly makes much of those who are in Christ.  He pushes further though to ask “What is The Bottom of Your Joy?”.

Spokeo is a search engine specialized in aggregating and organizing vast quantities of people-related information from a large variety of public sources. The public data is amassed with lightning speed, and presented almost instantly in an integrated, coherent, and easy-to-follow format.

While an individual could on their own, for example, potentially locate a person’s phone number or address by searching phone books, then redirect their search to a county tax assessor’s office to determine a home’s value, they would have to conduct literally hundreds of searches to discover all of the information available through only a single search on Spokeo.

Examples of information to be found on this site include:

• Address
• Phone
• Email
• Nicknames
• Family Members’ Names and Ages
• Gender
• Age
• Marital Status
• Housing Arrangement
• Income
• Household Income
• Hobbies
• Photos
• Videos
• Social Profiles
• Lifestyle
• Picture of House
• Income Comparison
• Home Value Comparison
• Economic Health

As one could easily tell, much of this information is generally perceived as private and the concept of such a site seems invasive to many people.  While some of the information provided by Spokeo is inaccurate and/or outdated, much of it is also very accurate.  About.com’s Urban Legends has a nice synopsis of Spokeo and some tips for avoided identity theft.

Photo: Screen shot of Spokeo.com

Christ the Lord takes a different narrative perspective than that of the canonical gospels; it is told from the first-person point of view of Jesus.  Rice takes her creative stories and weaves them into the history we already have (the gospels and apocryphal writing) of Jesus’ early years and later ministry.  The reader is forced to think “outside the box” of the gospels and to experience the boy Jesus in many new ways (singing, playing, working, falling asleep in synagogue, accidentally doing miracles, experiencing evil dreams).  While the gospels are sufficient, it is fun to imagine our savior telling this story of his own childhood years.

The book was very helpful in my understanding of first-century Palestinian and Jewish culture.  Aspects like a high value on family and community living are sometimes overlooked as the Gospels do not give us the early years of Jesus’ life in much detail.  For example, Rice immerses the reader into a time when children were much more mature than the twenty-first century American child (traveling, working, memorizing most (if not all) of the Scriptures).  From Jesus’ point of view, the reader literally feels like a member of Jesus’ family as they travel around, work, play, and try to survive.

There are many themes that are carried throughout the narrative.  The four themes that impacted me the most were the themes of language, story, humanity and divinity, and the temple.  Anne Rice makes it blatantly obvious that a plethora of languages were being spoken in the Palestine region in the first century.  The ways she used this theme were helpful in my understanding of the political-cultural environment and its narrative and theological implications.  From my own understanding of history, Rice has given an accurate depiction of the Roman Empire.  Characters in Christ the Lord usually speak to the government officials in Greek (a product of the Hellenization of Europe) but to their own families in their mother tongue of Aramaic or Hebrew.  It is much easier to get a real understanding of this forced taking on of Greek culture in the context of a plot-driven story than from a text book with charts and lists.  Rice also weaves this language theme by showing that the Temple was where all of the Earth (people of every tongue) came to meet God.

Anne Rice simply tells a good story!  One of the most moving parts of the plot involves a description of James’ asking for forgiveness from Jesus for his hatred and envy of Jesus’ status.  It is so obvious that the reader is to identify with James in confessing that we too have desired the place of God.  The emotions created in this scene allude all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  Not only is Rice an excellent storyteller, but through her narrative she precisely points out that the religion of Israel was a religion of a story.  They did have a theology and law, but these were set in the greater context of Israel’s rescue out of Egypt and becoming the people of God.

The third important theme to which I will respond is that of Jesus’ dual nature as both human and divine (I assume that Anne Rice believes that Jesus is without sin, and therefore, she is striving to portray that reality.).  The author does a fair job of portraying this double nature of Jesus.  For instance, I had never considered Jesus’ compassion much with regards to his human-divine nature, but to experience Jesus weeping at the sight and thoughts of death was very moving for me, the reader.  The boy Christ shows the greatest of compassion for others’ lives, yet he is overcome with emotion in a very human way.  Jesus goes through daily life without sin, and this must have been terribly difficult to portray.  I applaud Anne Rice for her portrayal.

Many people would be uncomfortable with the thought of Jesus “discovering” his divinity and fulfillment of “Messiah”, but I do not see it as inconsistent with his human-divine nature.  This is portrayed well as Jesus prods his family through many years of his life to tell him more of the angel, Bethlehem, and his family’s silence for these years.  I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the narrative as I have never considered how Jesus learned of his special birth and calling.  Rice has offered an interesting take on this mystery.

Lastly, the theme of the temple moves the plot along as Jesus’ family experiences violence in the temple, anticipates the journey to it, and as Jesus learns of his story in it.  “The Lord dwells in the temple”, and the importance of the temple for the first-century Jews is experienced as the reader lives life from Jesus’ perspective.  It is completely appropriate and moving that Rice subtly shows that Jesus is the true temple to which the grand story is pointing.

Overall, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt was an excellent novel.  It has challenged me in reading fiction, in thinking clearly about our certainties concerning Jesus’ childhood, and in seeing Jesus’ story (and childhood) as part of God’s grand design.

Photo: desiringgod.com

1.  John 15:15–”I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
+Jesus’ disciples are called friends because Jesus has made known to them what he has learned from the Father.

2.  James 2:23–”And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.”
+Abraham is called a friend a God seemingly because he believed God’s promises to him.

3.  James 4:4–”You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
+This verse seems to imply the inverse of what it asserts: friendship with God means enmity with the world.

I think it is clear that we need to nuance our understanding of friendship to mean something different than “Jesus is my buddy.”

Who is FLAME?  From his website:

FLAME is a Christian Hip-Hop recording artist with Clear Sight Music. He has released four albums including: self-titled FLAME, Rewind, Our World Fallen, and Our World Redeemed. His fourth album, Our World Redeemed, was nominated for a Grammy Award. FLAME has also been nominated for Dove and Stellar awards throughout his music career.

FLAME, aka Marcus Gray, graduated with his Bachelor’s degree from Boyce College, a school of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has a passion for biblical counseling and applied theology. He enjoys giving counsel to hurting people and providing them with hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ. FLAME is currently working on his Master’s degree in Biblical Counseling at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. He is married to his best friend Crystal Gray and attends Immanuel Baptist Church (ibclouisville.org).

To be born and raised in the inner city of St. Louis, immersed in a dominant hip hop culture, and heavily influenced by the ills of our society, the chances are considered bleak for one to become a successful byproduct of their grimy community. The childhood stories of many young men begin as such and rarely progress towards a sold out lifestyle for Christ. For FLAME, he was headed in the wrong direction until a near fatal car accident and the passing of his grandmother would serve as a rude awakening that took root in shaping his future. His grandmother was the strongest and most influential Christian example in his life. Immediately after her death and the tragic incident, FLAME received Christ at the age of 16.

During his personal time, FLAME initially wrote raps as devotionals to the Lord. After converting his devotionals to songs, Cross Movement Records took an interest in supporting FLAME’s passion to share the strong messages of the Gospel through rap music. In 2004, FLAME released his debut album with Cross Movement Records. Since then, FLAME released 3 more albums and launched his own record label, Clear Sight Music.

Now a leader in reforming the culture that he too was engulfed in, the foundation of FLAME’s ministry is to reach those same streets with his soapbox messages to lead his listeners to Christ. As his platform continues to garner the support of many others on the way, FLAME now reigns amongst the forefront runners in the Christian Rap industry known to challenge and encourage its audience with an unwavering clear presentation of the Gospel.

Who is Lacrae?  From his website:

An unlikely story stands behind the man known to many as Lecrae. From the south side of Houston, to a leader in the movement of urban reform, a rocky road provides a window into the grace he experienced through out his life–with every situation molding him into the artist and leader that he is today.

Born and raised by his mother, in a poor community, Lecrae Moore moved around a lot, giving him the versatile background and cultural awareness he carries with him. San Diego, Denver, and Dallas have once been home to him and the street life he idolized and pursued. Along the way, like many in the inner city, he took to rapping as a way of communicating his thoughts. It wasn’t until after high school that his hobby became a passion, and Jesus Christ redeemed his Hip-Hop background.

At 19-years-old, at the encouragement of a Christian leader, he had attended a conference and heard James White delivering the message. In that moment, sitting in a chair, his world was flipped upside down as the Holy Spirit convicted him of his sin and need for a Savior. Almost instantly, his renewed heart spilled over as he printed his testimony and passed it out across the University of North Texas campus. The next five years included many struggles and victories before he teamed up to found Reach Records, releasing his first album at the age of 25.

Calling Dallas home, Lecrae had remained content using his gifts of speaking and rapping while volunteering at a juvenile detention center, but the Lord had different plans, and he soon began working on his debut album. Pouring out a genuine discussion of life issues and a passionate, unashamed pursuit of Jesus Christ, Lecrae released Real Talk.  Listeners responded by quickly noting him as an emcee that meets people where they are by delivering transparent, relatable, and impactful messages.

As Lecrae continued to make his mark in the music industry, he realized the stage wasn’t enough. He wanted to see a deeper impact in urban culture. There needed to be a culturally relevant and biblically solid resource center to help train the next generation, so he co-founded ReachLife Ministries in 2005. The non-profit organization exists to partner with other organizations in equipping local leaders with culturally relevant tools and media projects designed to strengthen communities with the word of God. ReachLife is another vital piece in the larger vision of seeing a reformation in urban culture.

Since then, Lecrae has released the groundbreaking album After the Music Stops and the first Christian Rap album to ever sit in the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Top Gospel Charts–Rebel. Led by the
 classic single‚ “Jesus Musik,” After the Music Stops slowly spread to the mainstream market with other hits such as “Praying For You” and “Send Me.” Aimed at building an audience of disciples, the album sat on Soundscan’s Christian Hip Hop/R&B chart for two years after releasing in 2006. While Rebel, released in 2008, also garnered much success–claiming the No. 3 position on the iTunes Rap chart.

A graduate of University of North Texas, Lecrae now resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and children.  He and his wife are small group leaders at Blueprint Church, and his passion for impacting urban culture persists. With three successful albums to his name, touring worldwide along with the 116 Clique, and inspiring a generation of young believers across the globe, Lecrae is humbled by his position in leading others towards Christ. His hope is that Reach’s impact will spread far beyond simply the music and into the lives of individuals across the world, ultimately exalting Jesus Christ.

So, I’m usually not into gospel tracts.  They are usually either cheesy, outdated, inauthentic, inaccurate in their presentation, or all of the above.  But I think this particular tract avoids these problems.  Believers and unbelievers alike should check this out!

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Work is not morally neutral.  We were created to image God in the way we work.  There is a pattern of work beginning with Adam.  We are commanded to work (Exodus 20:8-11).
See also 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, Ephesians 6:5-8.

Work is demonstrated and patterned in creation, work is disrupted in the fall (“by the sweat of your brow”), work is being redeemed in Christ as he uses it for our sanctification.

10 helpful questions for believers to ask before making purchases:
1.  Are you repenting of all known sin?
2.  Will this force you to ignore other responsibilities?
3.  What is the true cost of this (Are there other inevitably entailing purchases along with it?)
4.  Do you have a history of spending problems?
5.  Is there a material benefit in this purchase (i.g.-Would the generic brand be just as good?)?
6.  Will it embarrass you to tell someone what you bought?
7.  Will it distract from the gospel?
8.  Will you grumble if you don’t get it?
9.  What is the alternative?
10.  When was the last time you refrained from a legitimate purchase, not because you didn’t have the money, but simply because you thought it would be good for your soul to go without?

Hopefully I can add to these thoughts as we finish up our class.  Thanks to Ricky Hardison and Steve Casey for preparing so well to teach our class.