As we scan the pages of Scripture, two truths become clear.
We are sinful people who break God’s law. Yet God loves us and saves us through His grace and righteousness.
The law exposes the wicked corners of our hearts. By God’s grace, however, Christ clothes those same hearts in His righteousness.
The Bible clearly reveals both God’s law and God’s grace.
Romans 5:8-9 says:
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”
God’s grace in Christ rescues us from His wrath against sin. That is what makes the gospel such good news.
What If You Could Hold the Bible but Not Read It?
Imagine holding that good news in the palm of your hand. You can touch the Bible and turn its pages.
Yet you cannot read a single word.
You never had the opportunity to learn.
You are as close as possible to the hope of God’s grace. Still, you cannot read those words of hope.
How can you absorb God’s Word without reading it?
How Streetlights Bible Began
Esteban Shedd faced that question nearly 10 years ago while leading a small group of high school students.
He noticed their frustration whenever the group tried to read and discuss a passage of Scripture.
“Come to find out that the majority of them could not read,” Shedd says.
“So one night at my home studio, I recorded next week’s passage of Scripture and placed a hip-hop instrumental under the recording as an experiment to try and bridge the illiteracy gap.
“The result was night and day! Not only did they enjoy listening to the Scriptures in a medium that is familiar to them, they were able to understand and comprehend the Scriptures just as much as they would reading it.”
That creative experiment gave birth to the Streetlights Multimedia Bible.
Shedd serves as the project director of Streetlights. Under his leadership, the project has expanded beyond an audio Bible.
It now includes video and curriculum tools that help people teach God’s Word.
Streetlights serves people who struggle with literacy. It gives them a way to hear, understand and absorb Scripture.
However, people who can read will also find it useful.
“At the end of the day,” Shedd says, “our whole Streetlights team wants everyone to be able to interact with Scripture, know the Gospel and grow in His transforming Word.”
Streetlights has released two volumes to date.
The first, Divine DNA, includes Genesis 1-6 and the Gospel of John. Together, those passages explore creation, the fall and redemption in Christ.
The second volume, The Blueprint, draws from Exodus 1-20 and Romans. It clearly presents the themes of law and grace.
Each volume includes passages from both the Old and New Testaments. That structure is intentional.
“One reason we hold to this formula is that this also helps combat Biblical Illiteracy,” Shedd says.
“Often times many skip the Old Testament thinking that it’s not relevant or applicable to us today but miss the vital background to Jesus’ Gospel in the New Testament.
“We hope that interacting with both the Old and New Testaments in one sitting can help reveal the full width of scripture that God has given us.”
Scripture Without Filler
The beauty of Streetlights is its accessibility.
People can interact with God’s Word regardless of their educational background or reading ability.
Across many media platforms, Scripture is available at the push of a button.
In an age of biblical illiteracy, Streetlights helps people absorb large portions of the Bible. It presents God’s Word clearly, chapter by chapter, without filler.
We can all support the work of making Scripture accessible to everyone.
Beyond the packaging, album cover and CD, Streetlights is about God’s Word.
This is sola scriptura, just set to a beat.