The Luke Project Vol 1- The Gospel in SongExemplo

From the Beginning 1:1-4

Let me introduce myself.  I’m Kacey Walkingstick and I’m a songwriter and pianist. A few years ago I began writing Scripture word for word as lyrics to original music. One afternoon, I had a calling to write the entire gospel of Luke into song, word for word. I only questioned it for a moment, but then was quickly reminded that nothing is impossible with God! 

It was my aha moment! An unstoppable fire had been lit in my heart. I continued to pray, but my path was clear. The Luke project was born. I began writing the entire gospel into song, word for word from the NASB translation. This study tracks along with each song and section of scripture, from chapter 1 through 3. Listen through as you read the verses to get the most out of each section.

Who was Luke?

Luke was a physician (Col. 4:14) that worked with others to spread the gospel (Phil. 1:23-24), and the Apostle Paul was his close friend. Luke accompanied Paul on several missionary journeys. We know he was a loyal man because Paul writes from prison that all had left him except Luke (2 Tim. 4:10-11).

We see from this book and the book of Acts, he is studied in his writing and vocabulary. Luke, a Greek gentile, wrote this book for everyone who isn’t Jewish. He specifically wrote this account to a gentile named Theophilus.

Who was Theophilus?

Not much is said in scripture about Theophilus. The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are both addressed to him. There are many theories as to who Theophilus was. We don’t know for sure, but he was likely a man of social and government rank and a gentile.

We know Luke thought highly of him and addresses him as “most excellent Theophilus.” This kind of greeting could have been suitable for a ranking official. It’s interesting to note, the name Theophilus means “loved by God” or “one who loves God.” How poetic that it’s also written to all of us who are loved by God! 

Why did Luke write this to Theophilus?

“So that you may know the exact truth.” Luke carefully investigated everything from the beginning. He was meticulous in his details starting from before the conception of Jesus. Being a doctor, Luke had to have realized the virgin conception for the miracle it was and found it important in telling this story.

Luke interviewed “eyewitnesses and servants of the word.” He gathered information from people who walked alongside Jesus. We can trust this gospel because of the many eyewitness accounts Luke recorded for us. 

Just as Luke wanted to tell this story of Christ in consecutive order, I gave myself a rule to follow while songwriting. I would use scripture word for word, and I would not skip around in scripture to serve the song. The song would serve scripture. I repeat a section or line to emphasize a point, but never jump back and forth. Every line of each song needs to be in consecutive order making it easy to follow the story. Doing so makes memorizing scripture effortless. 

Imagine scripture literally being the song of your heart. How would your life be different if you could recite the story of Jesus word for word? Let’s find out…