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God at Work: When the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Release Date: 06/16/2025

Spiritual Transformation: Simplification show art Spiritual Transformation: Simplification

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Spiritual Formation: Simplification – Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -   Summary: In this sermon, Pastor Donnell Wyche continues the church’s series on spiritual transformation by focusing on the practice of simplicity. At first glance, simplification seems straightforward—declutter, pare down, and reduce. But Pastor Donnell shows how true simplicity is one of the most difficult spiritual disciplines, because it directly confronts our fears, our desires, and our habits. Drawing from research on the modern American family and...

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Spiritual Formation: Spiritual Friendships show art Spiritual Formation: Spiritual Friendships

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Spiritual Formation: Spiritual Friendships – Pastor Hannah Witte - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -   Summary: This week, Pastor Hannah Witte continued our series on Spiritual Transformation by exploring the gift and calling of spiritual friendships. Drawing from Scripture, she reminded us that God created us not only to walk with Him, but also to walk with each other. Over sixty times in the New Testament, believers are exhorted to “one another”—to love, encourage, confess, pray, and bear one another’s burdens. Spiritual friendships are...

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Spiritual Formation: Sabbath show art Spiritual Formation: Sabbath

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Spiritual Formation: Sabbath - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -   Summary: Pastor Hannah continued our Spiritual Transformation series by teaching on Sabbath as God’s generous gift of rest, joy, and worship. Framing Sabbath through Exodus 20:8–11, she emphasized that “holy” means set apart for a special purpose—and that time itself is the first thing called holy in Scripture (Genesis 2:3). Sabbath (from Shabbat) invites us to stop, rest, delight, and enjoy God, not as a legal burden but as wisdom that forms us into a...

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Spiritual Formation: Confession and the Practice of Truth show art Spiritual Formation: Confession and the Practice of Truth

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Spiritual Formation: Confession and the Practice of Truth - Jonathan Hurshman - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -   Summary: In this week’s message, Jonathan Hurshman continued our series on spiritual formation by exploring the practice of self-examination and confession. Drawing from 1 John 1:5–10, he reminded us that spiritual disciplines are not ends in themselves but training that prepares us for life in God’s kingdom. Just as scales prepare a musician or physical training equips a hiker, confession opens us to the transforming work of the Spirit not...

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Spiritual Formation: Scripture show art Spiritual Formation: Scripture

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Spiritual Formation: Scripture – Hebrews 4:12 - Martha Balmer - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -   Summary: In this second sermon of our Spiritual Formation series, Martha Balmer explores how Scripture can serve as a “structure” in our lives that enables the Holy Spirit’s transforming work. Building on Pastor Hannah’s message about surrender, Martha reminds us that transformation is ultimately about union with God—moving from separation to deep intimacy with Him. This is not merely about fixing what is broken, but about responding to...

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Spiritual Formation: Paying Attention show art Spiritual Formation: Paying Attention

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

Spiritual Formation: Paying Attention – Romans 12 - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am -   Summary: In her first sermon as a pastor at Ann Arbor Community Church, Pastor Hannah Witte introduced herself with warmth, humor, and a powerful testimony of God’s transformative grace in her own life. She shared her journey from a non-religious upbringing in Columbus, Ohio to a life devoted to Christ, sparked by an invitation to a youth group and a deep encounter with God’s love. Framing her heart for ministry, she emphasized a longing to see...

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God at Work: When Justice Demands More show art God at Work: When Justice Demands More

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

God at Work: When Justice Demands More – Amos 5 - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am -   Summary: In this final sermon of the God at Work in an Unstable World series, Pastor Donnell Wyche unpacks the powerful words of the prophet Amos, challenging listeners to reimagine justice not as courtroom judgment but as the flourishing of God’s creation. Drawing from Amos 5 and other prophetic voices, Pastor Donnell explains that God rejects worship when it is divorced from justice. Instead, true devotion flows from our participation in...

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God at Work: When Hope Defies the Darkness show art God at Work: When Hope Defies the Darkness

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

God at Work: When Hope Defies the Darkness - Daniel 1 -  Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am -   Summary: In this sermon, Pastor Donnell explores the power of hope in the face of despair, drawing from the story of Daniel’s exile in Babylon. He opens by acknowledging the pressure many of us feel—externally from our world and internally from fear, anxiety, and the urge to numb ourselves. While these responses may seem natural, Pastor Donnell argues they are ultimately unsustainable. What we truly need, he says, is hope: a deep,...

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God at Work: When Faith Confronts a Broken System show art God at Work: When Faith Confronts a Broken System

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

God at Work: When Faith Confronts a Broken System – Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am -   Summary: In this powerful sermon, Pastor Donnell Wyche reflects on Jesus’ critique of the religious system in Mark 12 and the widow who gives all she has. Pastor Donnell challenges the common interpretation of this passage as merely a lesson in sacrificial giving and instead invites listeners to see the widow as a signpost of deep, radical trust in God. While Jesus condemns the corruption of the temple system, he lifts up the widow’s faith—not as a...

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God at Work: The Practice of Compassion in an Unstable World show art God at Work: The Practice of Compassion in an Unstable World

Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast

God at Work: The Practice of Compassion in an Unstable World  – Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am -   Summary: In this fourth sermon in the God at Work series, Pastor Donnell Wyche explores Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) as a call to radical compassion in an unstable world. The message begins with a question posed to Jesus by an expert in the law: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Rather than answering directly, Jesus draws the man into a deeper conversation about love, mercy, and what it...

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More Episodes

God at Work: When the World Feels Like It’s Falling Apart - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 

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 out, “How long, O Lord?” and “Where are you?” Pastor Donnell reminds us that these questions aren’t signs of weak faith; rather, they are faithful expressions of grief, longing, and hope.
 
Drawing on scripture—from Genesis to Psalms to the prophets—Pastor Donnell highlights a consistent truth: God hears the cries of the oppressed. God is not distant or indifferent. In fact, the biblical witness reveals a God who is deeply invested in humanity, who suffers alongside us, and who calls us to act with justice, mercy, and humility. While we may not always understand God’s timing or ways, scripture and the lived experience of the faithful tell a story of a God who cares and who invites us to co-labor in the work of healing and justice.
 
As the sermon closes, Pastor Donnell offers four practical invitations: to act courageously in small, just ways; to create contemplative space to be with God; to learn by immersing ourselves in scripture that shapes our moral imagination; and to commit to community, walking with others in faith. When the world is unstable, these practices anchor us in God’s presence and call. Even in the darkness, we are not alone. God is near, and God is at work.