Music Discussions

Lord Have Mercy

September 4, 2012

Dynamic Image Main Point: When God gives us mercy, our lives should reflect His goodness. His mercy should cause us to live totally different lives.

Discussion Starter: Lord Have Mercy by Lecrae
Lecrae is perhaps Christianity’s leading hip hop star. He’s released several albums over the past few years, but none have compared to the success of Gravity, his latest LP. When it was released, two of the songs grabbed the #1 and #2 spot on iTunes’ Top Singles. Lord Have Mercy is one of the songs on this highly popular album, and features two of Lecrae’s buddies, Tedashii and No Malice. The song basically talks about how God has changed their lives with His mercy.

The online video can be found on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdHvLNEgyhQ

Lyrics for Lord Have Mercy (featuring Tedashii):

[No Malice:]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son
From what I once was to what I have become
Lord have mercy [x2]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son

[Lecrae:]
Dark Past full of evil endeavors
Heart clean never black and ugly as ever
However I seen my family die from them rocks
Them beams on blocks including my own pops
Homie I seen too much to drink them two cups
Can’t lean on the lean already way too screwed up
Was way too gone I was way too cold
Fifty yard hail Mary I was way too thrown
I was Tarzan raised by gorillas and the beasts
High on them trees when I gorilla’d the beast
Then that truth came hit me got me outta my grave
All my partners say I’m changed
How am I go’n stay the same huh?!

[No Malice:]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son
From what I once was to what I have become
[x2]
Lord have mercy [x4]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son

[Tedashii:]
Killer tryna murder it chasing ladies down for fun
Saying come with me hail Mary but then kill the son
However I seen them boys mane take that bar and wait for God’s sake
Beastie boy he still took three the hard way
Toss me out heart away crucifix no jewelry
Just wooden beams he took from me
Took ’em up to Calvary while I was a DGK
Wiling out to UGK runnin from the HPD
Huffin puffin mary jane no grip chains mane
I was looking for a super freak
Nasty cameo candy super sweet
But now your boy turnt up free from all them chains
Ya volume on ten you can call it unashamed

[No Malice:]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son
From what I once was to what I have become
[x2]
Lord have mercy [x4]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son

[Lecrae]
Now I’m turnt up daily I’m on my one-eighty
They thought I’d water down I’m like boy y’all crazy
On my J.O. my Oj Mayo I’m on my Grizzly
Jesus turned me around me so fast that you would swear I was dizzy
Now they askin who is he now they wonderin my name
I run in my own lane screaming Jesus is King
Til my heart stop pumpin no more blood in my veins
Watch me turn up everyday homeboy I’m so unashamed

[Tedashii:]
Turnt up boy turnt up boy
Turnt up boy turnt up
[x3]

[No Malice:]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son
From what I once was to what I have become
[x2]
Lord have mercy [x4]
Lord have mercy and pity on your son

Transitional Statement:
When I listen to Lecrae rap, I often wonder how he puts so many different words together to make one solid biblical point. In my opinion, these few lines were among his most powerful: I was Tarzan raised by gorillas and the beasts High on them trees when I gorilla’d the beast Then that truth came hit me got me outta my grave All my partners say I’m changed How am I go’n stay the same huh?! In essence, what Lecrae is saying is that after God gave him mercy, he knew he had to change. He had to live a different kind of life. That’s so true. We can’t be the same old person we once were. Let’s talk about that for the next few moments in our small groups.

Divide into Small Groups:
Let’s go ahead and split up into our discussion groups, and then afterward we’ll come back together for a final word.

CLICK HERE for a quick training article on how to maximize your small groups using our small group format—a great resource to equip your small group leaders.

Discussion Questions:

AROUND THE CIRCLE: As we get started, let’s all take a second to share our names and our favorite rapper, or if we even like rap music.

ASK A FEW: Take a look back over the lyrics, and recall the music video. Why did Lecrae need mercy in this song?

ASK A FEW: How do you define mercy? (Leaders – Here is a pretty good definition of mercy: Mercy is when you DON’T get something you DO deserve, like punishment…as opposed to grace, which is when we DO get something that we DON’T deserve, like eternal life.)

ASK A FEW: Have you ever received mercy from someone? If so, can you tell us about it?

ASK THE SAME FEW: What would have happened to you if you DIDN’T receive mercy in that moment?

ASK A FEW: What effect should mercy have on others when it is shown to them?

ASK A FEW: Why does God give us mercy?

Read the following passage:

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; 2 in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. 3 No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame, but they will be put to shame who are treacherous without excuse. 4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. 6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. 7 Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O LORD. 8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. 9 He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. 10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. 11 For the sake of your name, O LORD, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

ASK A FEW: What are some of the things the psalmist is asking of God in this passage?

ASK A FEW: In Lecrae’s song, he rapped: Then that truth came hit me got me outta my grave
All my partners say I’m changed How am I go’n stay the same huh?! How does that relate to this passage?

ASK A FEW: Have there been moments in your life when you’ve asked God for similar things? If so, can you describe them?

ASK A FEW: Why would the psalmist isolate the “sins of his youth”? Why mention those specifically?

ASK A FEW: What does he say about God’s mercy in verse 6, and what’s that mean?

ASK A FEW: After God has given us mercy, what does He want to do with us? (Hint: The answer is in verse 9.)

ASK A FEW: If God gives you mercy, and your life doesn’t ever change, what are you essentially telling Him?

AROUND THE CIRCLE: How will your life be different this week because of God’s mercy?

Wrap Up:
I really like that song by Lecrae, but not because of the sick beat, the cool lyrics, or the awesome music video. I like it because it’s the true story of his life.

In case you didn’t know, Lecrae’s life started off pretty bleakly. His dad abandoned he and his mom for a life of drugs when he was a baby. That meant that they had to move a lot, so Lecrae grew up in the streets of several major cities all over the country. His only role models were his uncles, but unfortunately, they were into the gang life. They were always smoking weed, getting drunk, and brandishing their guns around the impressionable little boy.

It’s little wonder why Lecrae grew up wanting to be just like his uncles, wrapped up in the gang life.

But he was busted one night by cops for trespassing…and also for being in possession of drugs. The cop saw a Bible in Lecrae’s car that he kept for “a good luck charm.” The officer let him go as a result of seeing the Bible. Talk about some mercy!

You’d think that would be enough to cause Lecrae to turn his life around…but it wasn’t.

Not long afterward, Lecrae was in a pretty serious car accident. When he limped away from it, he realized that God had spared him. It was all he needed to finally bend his knee toward Jesus. The mercy he received from God during the car accident was enough to cause Lecrae to live differently.

Aren’t you glad that Lecrae is living for Jesus?!?!? Where would we get all those cool songs from if he were still living for himself?

That’s the point of his song, Lord Have Mercy. God gave Lecrae mercy after mercy after mercy, and the troubled young man finally realized it. When he did, his life was changed.

Your life should be changed, as well, if you’ve received God’s mercy. You can’t go on living the same old life. You have to be different! You have to be new! You have to be His!

If you need to talk about that some more, I strongly encourage you to hang around after we close in prayer. We have plenty of adult leaders who would love to speak with you.

Close in Prayer

Written by David R Smith