Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire - Persevering In Prayer
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Release Date: 05/26/2025
God at Work: When the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
God at Work: When the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this first message of a new sermon series, Pastor Donnell Wyche invites us to wrestle with one of the most urgent questions of our time: Where is God in a world that feels like it’s falling apart? In light of recent violence and tragedies, Pastor Donnell names what many of us feel—fear, anger, helplessness, and confusion—and draws us into the biblical tradition of asking hard questions. The people of God have long cried...
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Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire - Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Christ in You, the Hope of Glory - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In the final installment of our Colossians series, Pastor Donnell explores Paul’s powerful counter-vision to life under empire. Rather than simply critiquing systems of domination, Paul offers a transformative alternative rooted in the sufficiency of Christ. In empire, worth is earned through control, consumption, and coercion. But in Christ, worth is freely given, and we are invited to live as new...
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Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire - Persevering In Prayer
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Persevering In Prayer (Colossians 4:2-6) - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this heartfelt and deeply personal sermon, Pastor Hannah Witte invites the congregation into a counter-cultural life rooted in prayer, gratitude, and spiritual attentiveness. Drawing from Colossians 4:2–6, she reflects on the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to persevere in prayer as a way of resisting the empire—the forces of consumerism, nationalism, fear, and control that seek to dominate our...
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Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire - Culture-Making
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Culture-Making (Colossians 3:18–4:1) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this sermon, Pastor Donnell Wyche examines one of the most difficult sections of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, where household codes outline relationships between husbands and wives, parents and children, and slaves and masters. Far from affirming hierarchical or oppressive structures, Pastor Donnell argues that Paul is subverting the dominant culture of the Greco-Roman world. By addressing...
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Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Practices of Resistance
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Practices of Resistance (Colossians 3:1–17) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this third installment of the Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire series, Pastor Donnell Wyche explores Paul’s invitation to live a resurrection-shaped life as resistance to the demands and distortions of empire. After deconstructing the false promises of empire—security, glory, and salvation—Paul turns toward reconstruction, calling the Colossians to embody new life...
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Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Naming the Empire
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Naming the Empire (Colossians 2:6-15) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this powerful and provocative sermon, Pastor Donnell Wyche continues the Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire series by exploring Colossians 2:6–15 and what it means to be faithful to Christ in a world shaped by empire. Drawing from Paul’s letter to a fledgling church in Colossae, Donnell frames the passage as a deeply subversive text—one that directly confronts the...
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Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – The Unco-opted Christ
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – The Unco-opted Christ (Colossians 1:15-20) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this opening message of our new series on Colossians, Pastor Donnell Wyche invites us into a powerful re-centering of our lives around the crucified Christ. Preaching from Colossians 1:15–20, he reminds us that in the midst of empire, cultural pressures, and leadership failures, Paul does not begin with fear or anxiety but with a bold proclamation: Christ is the image of the invisible God,...
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All Things New: An Invitation to Hope, Restoration, and Life
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
All Things New: An Invitation to Hope, Restoration, and Life (John 20) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this Easter Sunday sermon, Pastor Donnell Wyche invites the congregation into the heart of the resurrection story—not just as a historical event, but as an unfolding promise. Drawing from John 20, he weaves together the emotional power of personal remembrance, the cosmic implications of Jesus’ resurrection, and the deep yearning we each carry for renewal. The story of Mary at the tomb becomes a powerful symbol of...
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Palm Sunday: The Subversive King
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Palm Sunday: The Subversive King – (Mark 11; Matthew 16, 26; Zechariah 9:9) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this Palm Sunday message, Pastor Donnell explores the tension between divine hope and human expectation. He contrasts Jesus’ humble entrance into Jerusalem on a donkey with the imperial procession of Pontius Pilate entering from the other side of the city. Drawing from Zechariah 9:9, Donnell invites us to notice how Jesus subverts conventional power—not through violence or domination but through vulnerability and...
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Unfinished: Learning Who Jesus Is—and Isn’t
Vineyard Church of Ann Arbor Sermon Podcast
Unfinished: Encountering Jesus, Becoming Disciples – Learning Who Jesus Is-and Isn't - Dan Lewan - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - Summary: In this powerful and deeply personal sermon, Dan Lewan opens up about a fifteen-year journey exploring the life of Peter, a disciple whose failures, impulsiveness, and transformation make him a compelling leader in the early church. What began as a college observation—that Peter was often wrong—grew into a lifelong fascination with how Jesus patiently shaped Peter through moments of correction and grace. Dan introduces the...
info_outlineColossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – Persevering In Prayer (Colossians 4:2-6) - Pastor Hannah Witte - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard
Summary:
In this heartfelt and deeply personal sermon, Pastor Hannah Witte invites the congregation into a counter-cultural life rooted in prayer, gratitude, and spiritual attentiveness. Drawing from Colossians 4:2–6, she reflects on the Apostle Paul’s exhortation to persevere in prayer as a way of resisting the empire—the forces of consumerism, nationalism, fear, and control that seek to dominate our lives. Pastor Hannah begins by sharing her own calling into ministry and the ongoing journey of faith that’s filled with more questions than answers. She reminds us that prayer doesn’t come naturally, but it is the pathway through which God’s dreams are ushered into the world.
Pastor Hannah unpacks Paul’s call to “stay awake” in prayer, encouraging us to resist the spiritual sleepiness that keeps us disconnected from God’s presence and purpose. She shares practical ways to cultivate this awareness, including beginning each day with the simple question, “God, what do you want to say to me?” She weaves in personal stories—most poignantly the sudden death of her mother—to show how practicing gratitude in both joy and grief keeps our hearts tender and open to God. Gratitude, she emphasizes, is not a trite response to suffering but a sustaining act of resistance and trust.
The sermon closes with a call to embrace God’s expansive dreams for humanity. Pastor Hannah highlights Paul’s own example—even from prison—of praying not for personal comfort but for open doors to proclaim the liberating love of Jesus. She challenges listeners to align their prayers not just with their personal desires but with God’s redemptive hopes for their neighborhoods, relationships, and communities. As we scatter into our lives, we are encouraged to live interruptibly, speak with grace, and embody God’s dreams in everyday encounters—offering a quiet but powerful resistance to the despair of empire.