Zootown Church

There are many names for Jesus, and there are many different characteristics to Jesus, but there’s one that we don’t think about enough: Friend. Jesus told his disciples before he went to the cross, which was going to be one of the most traumatic experiences of their lives, that "I no longer call you slaves but friends." Oftentimes we think so much about Jesus’ Divinity, we forget about his humanity, and that he is also the perfect friend. What we know about humanity is that it is in our low points, our struggles, when we are lost, that we need a friend the most. Jesus is our most important friend.

Pastor Scott kicks off his summer series, "Tripping Up", with the most important question anyone can ask: "Who is saved?" It seems like a simple answer -- Jesus. But the interesting thing is, most dominations don't even agree on how or who is saved. Scott breaks this down to show the God of love and mercy saves all, but we work out our salvation after the cross.

Pastor Scott ends his "iTunes Jesus" series, for now, with a country legend -- Garth Brooks. Garth sang a song in the '90s, that touched peoples hearts on a deeper level because of the truth that he conveyed. When we look back at our life and we see the Master at work, our Father, we will see some of our greatest gifts came in the form of unanswered prayers.

This week we look at one of Pastor Scott’s favorite rock ‘n’ roll songs of all time, one with deep theological implications. “Dream On” by Aerosmith was one of their earlier songs, but one of their best. It’s a poem about losing to win, failing to succeed, and growing through suffering. Such is the human condition, and our choice is to either get bitter or get better.

This week we looked at the poet, not the just musician -- Bob Dylan. Dylan converted from Judaism to Christianity in the '70s and that didn’t go over well in the music industry, but it did give him some great insight into the spiritual world. His song “Gotta Serve Somebody” is simple, yet deep, as it cuts through the moral hierarchy of society. We all serve someone.

On Easter Sunday, or Paschal, which is the real name, we looked at a song by Bob Marley called "Redemption Song". The main theme of the Bible can be summed up in one word: redemption -- but not just redemption of our bodies and our spirits but also our minds. Marley saw his people living in slavery years after they no longer were in slavery, which shows often it is a mindset. Jesus died our death, defeated our sin, so that we may live with a brand new mindset of the world, ourselves, and God.

Great and Holy Saturday Service

Good Friday Service

Palm Sunday is more than a one-time occurrence. It’s a model of who God is. Jesus didn’t pick a white horse, He picked a little colt. He didn’t pick a victory speech, He stayed silent. He didn’t bring the sword, He went to the cross. He truly is the Prince of Peace. He is our model for it.

We kick off "iTunes Jesus: B-Sides" with the quiet Beatle, the mystical Beatle -- George Harrison. Harrison was a seeker of God, and although he claimed Hinduism, he was very sympathetic to Christ, and you can hear his journey through his song "Hear Me Lord". If you read the Psalms, you will realize this song is a song written from himself to himself.

Pastor Scott wraps up the Reformation series with the most important part of our journeys in life: Honesty.

Jesus is the Physician. He healed the sick and all kinds of physical problems but his healing goes SO much deeper than that.

James Waddell gives a message about Jesus being The Resurrection, meeting us right in the middle of death and grief with His compassionate presence and life. Even death will not separate us from God. God comes into our very worst and transforms it with His love.

Our Reformation series continues with a conversation about creativity. Members of the Zootown creative team - Dan DeLong, Chad Mallow, Thaiv Armerding, and Bryce Dick discuss their thoughts about how God is the source of all creativity and we are made in His image, as well as the relationship the church has traditionally had with the arts community, why it is important to recapture the arts, and how creativity extends beyond the arts. Most importantly, we want you to see that YOU ARE a creative!

Baptism and Communion are two of the main practices that Jesus instructed his followers to do and have very clearly been the heart of the Church ever since. They are the “chief sacraments” of the church, or more precisely, “mysteries” that communicate what words cannot fully express about the power, beauty, and story of our liberation from sin and death through the incarnate, crucified, and risen Son of God. These mysteries are central and essential to the Church and point beyond themselves to the Mystery of Christ, the God-Man, around which everything is structured and spiritually nourished.

Ben Stewart, President of Uncharted International, gives a message on generosity and how the generosity of Zootown Church makes a difference not only in the community, but also across the world with their support and partnership with organizations like Uncharted. Uncharted multiplies disciples in overlooked and unreached places in response to the 3 billion people who live without access to the Gospel. To learn more about Uncharted and how you can partner with them, listen to this message and visit www.unchartedinternational.org/

One of the tragedies of the western church mindset is that we have taken the word "discipleship" and made it all about knowing facts about the Bible. Basically, we have fallen into the trap of thinking our theology is what saves us, but the reality is theology leads us to Jesus who is the one who saves us. The issue with this is nobody has perfect theology, and so if facts save us, then we're all in trouble. Pastor Scott lays out what true discipleship is in three simple ways: understanding the spirit in the Bible, our community groups, and serving Jesus. We are not called to know about Jesus, we are called to follow Jesus’ ways. That is what equals discipleship.

God gave Moses 10 Commandments but that wasn’t enough. By the time Jesus came, there were over 600 Commandments and it didn’t change a thing. Jesus tells them He didn’t come to abolish the law but fulfill it -- but how? This has caused great confusion and created a law-based approach to the gospel. This reformation is relearning what love means, Jesus love, Godly love. Zootown believes in the law, but the law of love is greater.

At Zootown we have been talking a lot about the "Reformation of the Church" we believe is happening. But what is it? What will it look like? How do we engage in it? This series is dedicated to the much-needed reformation in the church and how the vision of Zootown Church fits with that.

Pastor Scott wraps up this Advent season by telling everybody what would really honor Jesus during Christmas…eat, chill, relax. So often Christians put a ton of pressure on trying to honor God during the Christmas season, but what we see that truly honors God is resting in His finished work.