Ann Arbor Community Church Sermon Podcast
Ann Arbor Community Church is a multi-ethnic, multi-generational Christian community rooted in a centered-set approach to faith. We blend the vibrant faith of the historic Christian creeds with a thoughtful, engaged response to today’s culture. Whether you are filled with faith, full of questions, or somewhere in between, you belong here. https://a2communitychurch.org
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Anchored: Generous Witnesses
05/04/2026
Anchored: Generous Witnesses
Anchored: Generous Witnesses - David Paladino - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -
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Anchored: Becoming Like Christ
04/27/2026
Anchored: Becoming Like Christ
Anchored: Becoming Like Christ - Jonathan Hurshman - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Jonathan sets the stage by showing that a centered-set mindset only works if we have clear language for who and what is at the center—Jesus and his ways. He compellingly highlights our need for Christlikeness, reminding us that it is the whole point of the Christian life. The term itself means “little Christs”—people who imitate and resemble Jesus. Yet one of the failures of the Western Church, he notes, is that few of our coworkers and neighbors associate being “Christian” with becoming like Jesus. What if that were different? He then offers a thoughtful exposition of Philippians 2:5–11, grounding it in the Greco-Roman world, where status and achievement were everything—often gained at the expense of others. Against that backdrop, we see again and again that the way of Jesus is humility: a willing lowering of oneself for the good of others. Jonathan calls us to embrace this humble way as we seek to become like Christ in all things.
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Anchored: Steeped in Scripture
04/20/2026
Anchored: Steeped in Scripture
Anchored: Steeped in Scripture - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this sermon from the Anchored series, Pastor Donnell names a tension many feel but struggle to articulate: we are surrounded by more information than ever, yet feel increasingly anxious, disconnected, and unsteady. Turning to Book of Romans (15:4–7), he reframes the problem. What we lack is not access to answers, but a deeper kind of formation—one that shapes who we are, not just what we know. Drawing on Paul’s language, the sermon presents Scripture as a training ground for endurance and hope. This endurance is not passive survival, but an active, resilient strength formed over time through daily, often quiet practices. Rather than offering quick fixes, Scripture works on us slowly—comforting, correcting, and challenging the false binaries that divide us. In this way, it forms a people oriented toward Christ, what Paul describes as homothumadon: not agreement on everything, but a shared direction of life. The sermon then moves from inward formation to outward expression. Paul’s call to “welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you” becomes the defining mark of a formed community. This welcome is rooted in grace, extended not when people have it all together, but precisely when they do not. Pastor Donnell invites the congregation to see that being anchored is not about rigid certainty, but about being rooted in the living Christ, whose ancient words continue to shape a people of endurance, unity, and radical welcome.
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Anchored: Rooted In Grace
04/13/2026
Anchored: Rooted In Grace
Anchored: Rooted In Grace - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Hannah invites us to anchor our lives in the person and grace of Jesus in a world marked by anxiety, injustice, and constant pressure to prove ourselves. Drawing from Titus 3:3–7, Pastor Hannah reminds us that left to ourselves we fall into broken patterns that harm our relationships, but God, in kindness and love, comes to us through Christ—not because of anything we’ve done, but because of mercy—to bring renewal, reconciliation, and life. In contrast to a culture of self-justification through performance, status, or moral superiority, the gospel offers a different way: we are made right by grace alone and invited to live as people rooted in that grace. As recipients of God’s mercy and heirs of eternal life, we are freed to tell the truth about ourselves, break cycles of hurt, and become people of presence, justice, love, and hope in the world.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions - Simon, Son of John, Do You Love Me?
04/06/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Simon, Son of John, Do You Love Me?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Simon, Son of John, Do You Love Me? - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this Easter message, “Jesus’ Enduring Questions: Do you love me?” (John 21:15–19), Pastor Donnell invites us into the quiet, powerful moment on the shoreline where the risen Jesus meets his disciples after the resurrection. While the resurrection has already stunned and surprised them, the disciples are still trying to make sense of it all—returning to what is familiar, carrying grief, confusion, and unfinished stories in their hearts. It is in this ordinary space that Jesus appears, not with spectacle, but with presence, preparing breakfast and creating space for a deeply personal encounter. Focusing on Jesus’ threefold question to Peter, Pastor Donnell explores the weight of failure, regret, and the longing to make things right. Rather than offering quick forgiveness, Jesus lovingly leads Peter through a process of honest reflection that mirrors his earlier denial. In doing so, we see that Jesus is not only restoring Peter but also inviting him to confront his fear, release his self-reliance, and rediscover what it means to truly love and trust Christ. This exchange reveals a Savior who understands betrayal and hurt, yet still chooses restoration and relationship. This sermon reminds us that the resurrected Jesus meets us exactly where we are—not where we wish we were—and calls us into a renewed life marked by courage, hope, and love. No matter our past or our failures, we are not beyond the reach of grace. Instead, we are invited to respond to Jesus’ enduring question in our own lives and to step forward into a calling to care for others, live with bold hope, and participate in God’s ongoing work of renewal in the world.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Shall I Say?
03/30/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Shall I Say?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Shall I Say? - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Hannah invites the church this Palm Sunday to enter into the story of Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem and to see for themselves what kind of king he is. By imagining the scene through the eyes of the crowd, the sermon highlights the tension and excitement surrounding Jesus—hailed as king after performing miracles like raising Lazarus, yet arriving not with power or violence, but humbly on a donkey. Jesus is a radically different kind of king: one who brings peace instead of war, humility instead of status, and true freedom instead of political domination. In contrast to worldly power, Jesus demonstrates a kingdom rooted in self-giving love, fulfilling prophecy and inviting people into a new kind of deliverance from sin and death. Pastor Hannah invites us to consider our response to this king—especially when following him costs us something. Through Jesus’ own words as he approaches his death, we see his honest struggle yet unwavering obedience, choosing love and sacrifice over comfort. This becomes both a challenge and a source of healing: while we often resist costly obedience or seek recognition, Jesus fully gives himself for others without self-interest. Jesus' actions, especially on the cross, prove the depth of his love—offering both transformation for our sin and healing for our wounds. Ultimately, Pastor Hannah's invitation is to let Jesus’ self-giving love reshape our lives during Holy Week, trusting that his way of humble, sacrificial love leads to true life.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions: Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
03/23/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions: Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not what I say? - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: We've been exploring Jesus' penetrating questions throughout this series, the way he comes to us not first with answers, but with inquiries that expose our hearts. Like God in the garden, moving toward Adam when Adam was hiding, Jesus approaches us with questions that give us a clear chance to practice honesty and find intimacy with him. And today, he asks one of the most unsettling questions in the Gospels: "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?" Let's sit with this for a moment, because it's more layered than it first appears. The repetition, kyrios, kyrios, carries both authority and intimacy. This isn't formal, liturgical language. It is personal, even desperate. These aren't outsiders Jesus is addressing. These are people who know him, claim him, call on him. They show up. They listen. They use all the right words. And their words are correct. That is the thing we need to understand. Jesus isn't saying their theology is wrong. Their confession, "You are Lord," is exactly right. They have what the early church would come to call orthodoxy, right belief. They know who Jesus is. They can name it. They can sing it. They can say it with conviction, even with tears. But Jesus sees something missing. The word he uses for "do," poieite, is present tense, ongoing, habitual action. He is not asking for one dramatic moment of obedience. He is asking about the shape of a life. He is asking about orthopraxis, right practice, consistent behavior that flows from what we say we believe. And here is the tension Jesus is naming, one of the deepest struggles of the spiritual life. It is entirely possible to believe the right things and not live them. You can sing "Jesus is Lord" on Sunday and ignore him on Monday. You can feel moved in worship and remain unchanged in your relationships. You can be right about Jesus and still resist him. Now watch what Jesus does next. He does not give a lecture. He tells a story about two builders. And do not miss this. Both builders hear his words. Both are in the room. Both are part of the community. Both are building something with their lives. This is not a story about believers and unbelievers. It is a story about two kinds of disciples. The first builder comes, hears, and puts Jesus' words into practice. The Greek word for "comes," erchomenos, suggests ongoing relationship, not occasional visits. This person is in consistent, intentional connection with Jesus. And they dig down deep, eskapsen, costly, intentional work. They go beneath the surface, beneath what is convenient, beneath what is quick, and they lay their foundation on rock. The second builder hears the same words. Maybe they are even taking notes or sharing insights afterward. Maybe they feel inspired in the moment. But they do not dig. They build on the surface. They go with what is convenient. The same words are heard, the same houses are built, but the outcomes are completely different when the storm hits. So what is the difference? It is not simply doing more religious activities or trying harder. The difference is something deeper than behavior. It is what I would call orthopathy, right heart. Orthopathy is the kind of heart that actually wants to dig. Orthodoxy says, "Jesus is Lord." Orthopraxis says, "So I live differently." Orthopathy says, "I actually want to follow him." It is the posture of the heart that connects belief to action. It is the affection, the reverence, the longing for God that makes obedience more than duty. It makes it response. It is why one builder digs and the other does not. Not because one has more willpower, but because one has been captured by the reality of who Jesus is. The builder who digs deep is not just more disciplined. They are more oriented. Their love for Jesus makes the digging worth it. Their reverence for his words makes obedience feel like life rather than obligation. The builder who stays on the surface still has intact orthodoxy. They can say "Lord, Lord" and mean it in the moment. But something in the heart has not caught up to the confession. The belief is real, but it has not gone deep enough to reshape how they live. And this is where Jesus' story becomes urgent, because he does not say if the storms come. He says when. The storm might look like a diagnosis you did not expect, a relationship that fractures, a moment when your faith feels thin, or a season where what you believed does not seem to hold. Both houses face the same storm. One stands, and one collapses completely. The storm does not create the problem. It reveals what was already true about the foundation. This is why the integration of orthodoxy, orthopraxis, and orthopathy matters so much. This is not a theological exercise. It is storm preparation. What sustains you is not just what you believe about Jesus, and not just your habits of obedience, but whether your whole self, mind, heart, and life, has been built on the rock of who he is. Now let me be clear, because this can start to sound like a spiritual performance review, and that is not what Jesus is doing. Remember the context. Jesus has just been teaching about God's radical, indiscriminate grace, blessing the poor, the hungry, and those who mourn. He has taught us to love enemies, to not judge others, and to deal with the log in our own eye before the speck in someone else's. This is not legalism. This is love. The foundation of rock is not our moral achievement. The foundation is Jesus himself, the solid ground of God's unchanging love for us in Christ. We do not dig deep to earn his affection. We dig deep because of his affection. Orthopathy, right heart, is not something we manufacture through effort. It is something the Spirit cultivates in us as we remain connected to Jesus. And that is the good news inside this challenging passage. The rock is already there. You do not have to go find it. Jesus is inviting you to build on what is already solid, his word, his character, his faithfulness. The digging is simply clearing away the sand we have been building on instead. From that secure foundation, we can risk honesty. We can acknowledge the gap between our confession and our practice without drowning in shame, because our identity is not based on our consistency. It is based on his faithfulness. So Jesus' question stands before us today. Why do you call me "Lord, Lord," and do not do what I say? It is not an accusation. It is an invitation. Maybe your orthodoxy is strong, but your orthopraxis has drifted. You know what is true, but you have not been living it. That is not condemnation. That is the starting place for grace. Maybe your practices are there, but your heart has gone cold. The doing is present, but the delight is missing. Jesus wants to meet you there too. Or maybe you just feel the gap, the exhausting space between who you say you are and how you actually show up. Jesus is not asking for instant perfection. He is asking for honesty and a willingness to start digging. Digging might look like forgiving someone you have been avoiding. It might look like telling the truth where you have been managing appearances. It might look like returning to prayer, not out of obligation, but to reconnect your heart. The rock is already there. You do not have to find it. You just have to decide what you are going to build your life on.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions - Who Do You Say I Am?
03/16/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Who Do You Say I Am?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Who Do You Say I Am? - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Hannah invites the church to imagine what it means to truly answer Jesus’ question, “Who do you say I am?” After reflecting on the community’s shared life—its desire for deeper relationships, spiritual growth, and faithful presence in the world—the message turns to the moment in Matthew 16 when Jesus leads his disciples to the spiritually dark city of Caesarea Philippi and asks them to name who they believe he is. In that unlikely place, Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, and Jesus responds by giving him a new identity and promising to build a church that even the powers of darkness cannot overcome. The sermon casts a vision of a people who courageously confess Jesus as Lord, receive their identity from him, and join his mission—bringing light, hope, and restoration into the very places that seem farthest from God. It ends by inviting each listener to answer Jesus’ question personally and step more fully into a life of faith, courage, and participation in the unstoppable work of Christ.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Do You Have?
03/09/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Do You Have?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Do You Have? - Dave Paladino - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: We continue sitting with Jesus' enduring questions that expose reality and invite us to repentance this Lenten season. Dave contrasts the two banquets in Mark 6—Herod’s feast of power and violence, and Jesus’ feast of compassion and life—to show how God’s kingdom confronts evil differently. Jesus invites his followers to become “under-shepherds” who both resist external injustice and cultivate soft, compassionate hearts, refusing the false choice between social action and personal holiness. By asking, “What do you have? Go and see,” Jesus calls us to offer what we have to him so he can multiply it into a kingdom banquet of care for the vulnerable.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions - Why Are You So Afraid?
03/02/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Why Are You So Afraid?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - Why Are You So Afraid? - Martha Balmer - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: This season, we are centering our life together around the questions of Jesus—questions that do not trap or shame, but restore and renew. When Jesus turns to his first disciples and asks, “Why are you so afraid?”, he invites them to be really honest about their inner world, that they might become free from fear and full of faith. We believe discipleship begins there: not in performance, but in honesty. Instead of rushing to answers, we are learning to let Jesus’ questions work on us, exposing what drives us beneath the surface and inviting us into a deeper and truer faith.
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Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Do You Want?
02/23/2026
Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Do You Want?
Jesus' Enduring Questions - What Do You Want? - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: This season, we are centering our life together around the questions of Jesus—questions that do not trap or shame, but restore and renew. When Jesus turns to his first disciples and asks, “What do you want?”, he invites them into a deeper awareness of their true desires. We believe discipleship begins there: not in performance, but in honesty. Instead of rushing to answers, we are learning to let Jesus’ questions work on us, exposing what drives us beneath the surface and inviting us into something deeper and truer. In this sermon, we explore how Lent is less about spiritual subtraction and more about courageous exposure. What if the question “What do you want?” reveals both our hunger for God and our competing desires for comfort, control, or security? As we follow the disciples’ simple response—“Where are you staying?”—we discover that transformation begins not with information, but with proximity: “Come and see.” This message invites you to bring your real desires to Jesus, trusting that the God who moves toward us does not condemn, but restores, renames, and calls us forward into a new future.
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Preparing for Lent: Returning to God
02/16/2026
Preparing for Lent: Returning to God
Preparing for Lent: Returning to God - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: As the church prepares for Lent, Pastor Hannah invites the congregation to see Genesis 3 not just as an ancient failure, but as a mirror for our own lives. The serpent’s temptation begins with a subtle distortion of God’s goodness, planting the lie that God cannot be trusted and is holding something back. Adam and Eve grasp for what they already possess—life with God—and shame fractures their intimacy. Yet even in their hiding, God comes walking toward them, asking three gentle, piercing questions: Where are you? Who told you? What have you done? These are not accusations, but invitations. Lent, then, becomes an opportunity to step out from hiding and return to the God who still comes looking for us. What if we let God’s questions lead us into honest repentance—naming the voices we’ve trusted, the ways we’ve withdrawn or blamed, the places we’ve taken rather than received? As we turn back toward God, we rediscover intimacy, freedom, and love that overflows into our relationships and our community. This season is not about shame—it’s about coming home.
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The Wilderness Between
02/09/2026
The Wilderness Between
The Wilderness Between - Isaiah 43:16-21 - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Donnell reflects on the church’s journey through a six-week vision series by naming the season the congregation now inhabits: a wilderness. Rooted in Isaiah 43:16–21, the sermon draws together the threads of the series, from the Magi’s attentive faith at Epiphany, through centered-set belonging, life across real difference, and freedom. Rather than rushing toward resolution, the message pauses to name the in-between, the space where the old has ended but the new has not yet fully arrived, and where God is still actively at work. Using a three-phase framework for how real change unfolds, endings, the wilderness, and new beginnings, the sermon situates the church honestly in the middle of transition. Through Moses’ long formation in the wilderness and Isaiah’s word to a people in exile, Pastor Donnell emphasizes that God’s presence is not delayed until clarity emerges. God is not waiting for stability before acting. “I am making a way in the wilderness” is spoken as a present reality, inviting the congregation to pay attention to what is already springing up. As the church prepares to enter Lent, the sermon offers an invitation to deeper belonging. Membership is framed not as an institutional obligation, but as a shared commitment to walk the wilderness together. The message concludes at the communion table with an invitation to come with open hands, carrying endings, holding uncertainty, and trusting that the God who sets the table is the same God who makes a way in the wasteland.
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Drawn Towards the Center: Freedom, Joy and Boundless Generosity
02/02/2026
Drawn Towards the Center: Freedom, Joy and Boundless Generosity
Drawn Towards the Center: Freedom, Joy and Boundless Generosity - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In the final week of this series, Pastor Hannah invites the congregation to reflect on God’s vision for freedom, joy, and generosity, especially amid grief, injustice, and personal struggle. Grounded in Galatians 5, Pastor Hannah explains that biblical freedom is not doing whatever we want, but being set free from sin, shame, and striving so we can love others in humility and love, as God designed us to. Using the image of a car stuck in the snow, she illustrates how people often need help getting unstuck—and how Jesus, through his death and resurrection, gives believers a secure identity as God’s beloved children and a purpose rooted in loving God and others. Turning to Paul’s message to the Galatians, Pastor Hannah challenges the belief that we must earn our worth or justify ourselves before God. Such striving, then and now, keeps people from living into the freedom that is their birthright in Christ. Pastor Hannah closes with a prayer designed to help us practice the honesty and surrender necessary for finding true freedom in Christ.
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Drawn Towards the Center: Learning to Belong Across Our Differences
01/26/2026
Drawn Towards the Center: Learning to Belong Across Our Differences
Drawn Toward the Center: Freedom, Joy and Boundless Generosity - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary:
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Drawn Towards the Center: Desire Opens the Door
01/19/2026
Drawn Towards the Center: Desire Opens the Door
Drawn Towards the Center: Desire Opens the Door - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Hannah invites the church to rediscover a centered set vision of faith—one where belonging is defined not by meeting specific boundaries, but by the direction of one’s desire toward Jesus. Drawing from the Gospel of Luke, Pastor Hannah traces how Jesus consistently welcomed people who were considered outsiders: tax collectors, political extremists, women, children, sinners, and even the criminal dying beside Him on the cross. Again and again, religious leaders asked, “Why is Jesus letting them in?” And again and again, Jesus’ life answered clearly: anyone who desires to be with Him is welcome. Desire—not perfection, morality, or religious performance—is the entry point into the family of God. The sermon then turns toward the implications for church life today. A centered set community holds Jesus at the center—trusting Him to transform people over time—while practicing grace, honor, humility, and curiosity with one another. This kind of community is beautiful, but also demanding, because it asks us to stay engaged across differences, resist policing one another’s journeys, and choose compassion over control. The call is to become a Beloved Community where fear grows small and love grows deep, where we take relational risks, ask better questions, and walk together as fellow pilgrims—trusting that Jesus delights in drawing all who desire Him closer.
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Drawn Towards the Center
01/12/2026
Drawn Towards the Center
Drawn Towards the Center (John 12:20–33) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this second sermon of the 2026 series Moving Towards the Center, Pastor Donnell Wyche invites the congregation to reflect on faith in a chaotic and fear-filled world. Building on the Epiphany theme of attentiveness, he reminds listeners that the Spirit of God does not operate through fear or coercion, but through presence, desire, and attraction. Gathering together, he says, is itself an act of resistance to isolation and despair, a declaration that we are not alone as God continues to unfold a larger story of grace, belonging, and transformation. Turning to John 12:20–33, Pastor Donnell centers the sermon on Jesus’ words, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” He highlights the significance of the Greeks—outsiders—who come simply saying, “We wish to see Jesus.” Their honest desire becomes a sign that God’s work is expanding beyond insiders and boundaries. Jesus does not offer them easy answers or rigid rules; instead, he orients them toward himself. Faith, Pastor Donnell explains, is not about mastering ideas or guarding lines, but about being drawn into relationship with the living Christ who awakens desire rather than enforcing compliance. The sermon culminates in a vision of “centered faith”: a life shaped not by fear of crossing boundaries, but by movement toward Jesus over time. Pastor Donnell challenges listeners to shift the core question of faith from “Am I good enough?” to “What direction is my life heading?” Growth, he reminds us, is uneven and imperfect, but faithfulness is found in leaning forward, trusting that Christ is strong enough, loving enough, and alive enough to draw us closer. The invitation is simple and hopeful: you do not have to be finished, certain, or complete—only willing to move toward the center.
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Joining God's Unfolding Story
01/05/2026
Joining God's Unfolding Story
Joining God’s Unfolding Story ( Matthew 2:1–12) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Donnell Wyche launches a new year sermon series by inviting the church to “join God’s unfolding story,” beginning with the Epiphany account of the Magi in Matthew 2:1–12. The Magi notice a light breaking into the ordinary pattern of the world and choose to follow it, even without a map, a timeline, or certainty about where it will lead. Their journey becomes a picture of faith as attentiveness—learning to recognize where God is already at work and taking the next faithful step in response. The sermon contrasts the Magi’s open, responsive posture with King Herod’s fear-driven pursuit of control. Herod is unsettled by the possibility of a new king because power, in his imagination, is a zero-sum game—so he gathers information, consults experts, and uses Scripture as leverage to maintain his grip. The Magi, however, move toward the light they’ve been given, and their joy is born not from certainty, but from discovering they are participating in something real and holy: the living God drawing them into a story larger than their own. As the church enters 2026, this message sets the series’ guiding frame: God’s story is already moving—often ahead of our plans and beyond our boundaries—and discipleship begins with paying attention. In a season when many carry uncertainty, fatigue, or anxiety, Pastor Donnell calls the congregation to lift their eyes, watch for God’s movement, and trust Jesus enough to follow. The invitation is simple and demanding: notice where the light is showing up, and step into God’s unfolding story together.
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Christmas Eve - The Power of Our "Yes"
12/25/2025
Christmas Eve - The Power of Our "Yes"
Christmas Eve - The Power of Our "Yes" - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this Christmas message, Pastor Hannah walks listeners through Luke 2, inviting us to slow down and step into the wonder of the first Christmas night. She highlights how God enters the world not through power or prestige, but by interrupting ordinary lives—Mary, Joseph, and later the shepherds—with an unexpected invitation to trust Him. Though none of them seek the spotlight or have the accolades the world celebrates, each responds with a simple but courageous “yes,” and that trust draws them into intimate, life-changing encounters with God as Jesus, the Savior, is born. Pastor Hannah reminds us that the good news of Christmas is first shared with the overlooked and ordinary, revealing a God who delights in meeting people right where they are. Like the shepherds, listeners are invited to move beyond hearing about Jesus and to go and see for themselves—trusting that God is as real and present as the ground beneath them. The message closes with a gentle challenge to create space for God this Christmas by choosing presence over distraction, opening our hearts to deeper intimacy with Emmanuel, God with us.
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Advent Week Four
12/22/2025
Advent Week Four
Advent Week Four - Jonathan Hurshman - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -
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Advent Week Three
12/15/2025
Advent Week Three
Advent Week Three - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -
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Advent Week Two
12/08/2025
Advent Week Two
Advent Week Two - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am -
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Advent Week One: A Genealogy of Hope
12/01/2025
Advent Week One: A Genealogy of Hope
Advent Week One: A Genealogy of Hope - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Hannah introduces Advent as a season of waiting and reflection, inviting the congregation to remember Jesus’ first coming and anticipate his return. This leads into the reading of Matthew 1, emphasizing that the genealogy is an origin story rich with meaning rather than a list to skip. Pastor Hannah highlights three themes in Jesus’ lineage: it is multi-ethnic, featuring women like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba; it is full of broken yet beautiful people, showing Jesus’ solidarity with humanity; and it reveals a God who keeps promises across generations. The story of Abraham and Sarah becomes a picture of hope—God bringing life from impossibility and remaining faithful even when we doubt. The sermon ends by grounding Advent hope in Jesus’ birth and Isaiah’s vision of God’s future peace. The congregation is encouraged to create space for Advent reflection, remember God’s faithfulness, and cultivate hope as they follow Christ’s light into a world longing for restoration.
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The Parables of Jesus - The Least of These
11/24/2025
The Parables of Jesus - The Least of These
The Parables of Jesus - The Least of These (Matthew 25:31-46) - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this week’s message, Pastor Donnell Wyche concludes our journey through the parables of Jesus by taking us into Matthew 25:31–46—the well-known but often misunderstood story of the sheep and the goats. Rather than presenting a God eager to condemn, Pastor Donnell reminds us that Jesus is revealing the true heart of the Father: one grounded in self-giving love, mercy, and a desire for relationship. Jesus paints a picture of the Son of Man sitting in judgment, not as a distant ruler but as the same compassionate teacher who welcomed children, touched the sick, and washed the feet of his disciples. This scene may feel unsettling because it involves judgment, but Pastor Donnell helps us see that Jesus’ judgment is always restorative, not vindictive. Throughout the sermon, we are invited to reconsider the fear-based interpretations many of us inherited. Jesus does not say the kingdom is earned through good deeds—it is an inheritance, something we receive because we belong. Likewise, the “eternal fire” is described as something prepared not for people, but for the spiritual forces that oppose God’s kingdom. Instead of being a test of moral performance, this parable is about recognition: Did we welcome Jesus when he appeared to us in the hungry, the stranger, the sick, the imprisoned? Pastor Donnell emphasizes that what is most surprising in the story is that no one—not even the “sheep”—recognized Jesus. Their acts of mercy were imperfect, ordinary, and uncalculated, yet Jesus received them as love offered directly to him. As we approach Thanksgiving, Pastor Donnell closes with a simple and grounding invitation. Because we often fail to recognize Jesus in the moment, our hope is not in perfect vision but in the fact that Jesus recognizes us. Instead of trying to force spiritual insight, we are encouraged to choose one small act of ordinary love—listening patiently, offering welcome, showing kindness in hard moments. These small acts matter more than we know, because Jesus tells us that whenever we love “the least of these,” we are loving him.
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The Parables of Jesus - The Bags of Gold
11/17/2025
The Parables of Jesus - The Bags of Gold
The Parables of Jesus: The Bags of Gold - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this week’s message from Ann Arbor Community Church, Pastor Hannah invites listeners to enter into Jesus’ parable of the bags of gold from Matthew 25:14-30 with fresh eyes. Pastor Hannah helps listeners see that the story isn’t primarily about productivity or comparison, but about faithfulness and trust in the character of the master—who represents Jesus. She explains that each servant received what they could handle, revealing a master who knows, equips, and desires their flourishing. The tragedy of the third servant, she notes, is not that he failed to produce enough, but that he misunderstood the master’s heart—believing him to be harsh rather than generous. Ultimately, Pastor Hannah calls the community to remember the truth of who Jesus is: generous, patient, and good—even as he faced betrayal and death. She challenges listeners to examine what story they'll believe about God.. As we choose to trust God’s goodness and invest what God's given us with faithfulness, we step into deeper joy and partnership with God. The invitation, Hannah concludes, is to hold fast to the true story—that God sees us, loves us, and wants to share His life with us—until the day we hear those words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
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The Parables of Jesus: Awake and Waiting
11/10/2025
The Parables of Jesus: Awake and Waiting
The Parables of Jesus: Awake and Waiting (Matthew 25:1–13) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this sermon, Pastor Donnell Wyche explores Jesus’ parable of the ten young women waiting for the bridegroom, highlighting how it invites us to live with spiritual readiness, not fear. He reminds listeners that the parable isn’t about purity or moral worth, but about preparation — about having “oil” that lasts through the long night. The wise and foolish alike had lamps and fell asleep, but only those who brought extra oil were ready when the bridegroom arrived. The oil, Pastor Donnell explains, represents a cultivated inner life — the presence and power of the Holy Spirit that can’t be borrowed, rushed, or replicated at the last minute. Throughout the message, Pastor Donnell contrasts outward forms of faith with inner transformation. “You can fake a lot of things,” he says, “but only oil burns in the dark.” Faith is not proven by appearance or performance, but by the life we nurture in God’s presence — the quiet, often hidden rhythms of prayer, trust, and love that sustain us when life stretches longer than expected. This is the wisdom of readiness: living with a steady heart, anchored in God’s timing rather than our own. Ultimately, the sermon turns from warning to invitation. The bridegroom’s coming isn’t meant to spark fear but joy — a procession into divine intimacy. Being ready, Pastor Donnell teaches, is about keeping our hearts tender, our love enduring, and our lamps tended through the long night of waiting. He ends with a simple spiritual practice: light a candle this week, sit quietly for two minutes, and pray, “Lord Jesus, fill me again with your light.” In this small act of stillness, we make space for the oil that cannot be faked — the Spirit’s enduring presence within us.
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All Souls: A Liturgy for Our Losses
11/03/2025
All Souls: A Liturgy for Our Losses
All Souls: A Liturgy for Our Losses (Matthew 5:4) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this All Souls Day message, Pastor Donnell Wyche pauses the church’s Parables of Jesus series to offer a space for grief, reflection, and healing. He begins by expanding the meaning of All Souls Day beyond remembrance of those who have died to include all the losses that shape our lives—dreams unfulfilled, relationships broken, jobs lost, health struggles, and even disillusionment with the church itself. Through humor and compassion, Pastor Donnell invites listeners to acknowledge these everyday griefs as part of the human story that God meets with tenderness and grace. Drawing from Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted,” he reframes mourning not as a failure of faith but as an act of honesty and spiritual courage. Citing Jesus’ own experiences of sorrow—his weeping over Lazarus and compassion for the helpless crowds—Pastor Donnell reminds the congregation that grief is not weakness but love in action. “Mourning," he says, "allows us to bear witness to what still matters and to resist the temptation to numb ourselves to suffering. When held with God and community, mourning becomes a holy protest against injustice and indifference." The sermon culminates in a moving communal liturgy. Congregants are invited to light candles for loved ones who have died and to name other kinds of loss silently before God. Through these embodied acts of remembrance and prayer, the community practices the comfort Jesus promises—acknowledging that grief takes time, that pain can rearrange our priorities, and that within sorrow lies the seed of compassion and enduring hope.
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The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Weeds
10/27/2025
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Weeds
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Weeds - Jonathan Hurshman - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Jonathan Hurshman brings us an honest, heartfelt sermon examining Matthew 13:24-30. He explores cultural context of the hearers and the world that Jesus was speaking to brilliantly, and invites us to be people who take Jesus at his word, trusting that Jesus is far more brilliant than we are. At the core of his sermon, Jonathan uncovers the question of the parable, how will we live as people of the kingdom of God, in a world where evil grows up right next to the good?
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The Parables of Jesus: Justice as Restored Dignity
10/20/2025
The Parables of Jesus: Justice as Restored Dignity
The Parables of Jesus: Justice as Restored Dignity (Matthew 20:1-16) - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: In this message on Matthew 20:1–16, Pastor Donnell revisits the workers-in-the-vineyard parable with fresh eyes. Rather than reading it through an hourly-wage fairness lens, he reframes the story around God’s justice as mercy, compassion, and restored dignity. The landowner’s repeated trips—at dawn, 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m., and even 5 p.m.—are not about efficiency but about refusing to leave anyone unseen, unchosen, or ashamed in the “unemployment line” of the marketplace. Each return, Pastor Donnell says, is a small act of salvation: an invitation into purpose, belonging, and worth. The tension erupts at payday when latecomers receive a full day’s wage and early workers protest, “You made them equal to us.” Pastor Donnell names what’s exposed: a meritocratic worldview where value is measured by productivity and grace feels like injustice. But the landowner’s gentle reply—“Friend… are you envious because I am generous?”—widens the frame. In God’s kingdom, justice is not a narrow calculus of equal treatment; it is the restoration of those humiliated by exclusion. This is generous justice: respect, dignity, and a living provision that answers the real needs of real people. Pastor Donnell closes pastorally: notice where you feel like a late-day worker—unseen, left behind, still waiting at the gate. Invite God, the generous landowner, into that space. Ask him to call you “friend” and to remind you that your worth has never been measured by productivity or performance. In a world of competing kingdoms—merit versus mercy—Jesus reveals a God who does not demand but gives, who lifts up the overlooked, and who will not end the day with anyone still standing alone.
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The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
10/13/2025
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector - Pastor Hannah Witte - . Like us on or watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - Summary: Pastor Hannah continues our fall journey through Jesus’ harder parables by inviting the church to “rest our whole weight on God” and to take Jesus at his word. Teaching from Luke 18:9–14, she frames the parable for a mixed crowd—newcomers and long-timers alike—reminding us that we are becoming a people transformed by Jesus, learning to belong across differences with joy, freedom, and boundless generosity. In this story, a respected Pharisee and a despised tax collector both come to pray; one trusts his resume, the other pleads for mercy. Jesus’ punchline overturns expectations: it is the humbled tax collector—not the exemplary religious figure—who goes home justified. To hear the scandal of the story, Pastor Hannah explains who Pharisees and tax collectors were in their world: the admired guardians of religious life versus the socially ostracized collaborators with Rome. She names the pain of spiritual contempt in the Pharisee’s prayer (“God, I thank you that I am not like…”) and gently asks us to notice who fills that blank in our own hearts—an enemy, a political group, a person who has harmed us. Holding together truth and mercy, she recalls Saul’s transformation into Paul as proof that even oppressors are not beyond God’s interrupting grace. God hates evil, not people; the kingdom exposes pride and exalts humility. Pastor Hannah’s invitation is simple and searching: trade merit for mercy. Like the tax collector, we come home to God not by performance or pedigree but by asking, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” She offers concrete responses—receive prayer, come to the Table, and even let communion become a two-fold prayer: mercy for ourselves as we take the bread, mercy for those in our “blank” as we drink the cup. In God’s economy there is no earning—only giving and receiving—and those who humble themselves will be lifted up.
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