The Parables of Jesus
Exploring the parables of Jesus and their meaning for our lives today.
The Parables of Jesus - The Least of These
November 24, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Donnell T. Wyche
Description
The Parables of Jesus - The Least of These (Matthew 25:31-46) - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 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.
The Parables of Jesus - The Bags of Gold
November 17, 2025
Speaker: Pastor Hannah Witte
Description
The Parables of Jesus: The Bags of Gold - Pastor Hannah Witte - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 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."
The Parables of Jesus: Awake and Waiting
November 10, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Donnell T. Wyche
Description
The Parables of Jesus: Awake and Waiting (Matthew 25:1–13) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 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.
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Weeds
October 27, 2025
Speaker: Jonathan Hurshman
Description
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Weeds - Jonathan Hurshman - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 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?
The Parables of Jesus: Justice as Restored Dignity
October 20, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Donnell T. Wyche
Description
The Parables of Jesus: Justice as Restored Dignity (Matthew 20:1-16) - Pastor Donnell T. Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 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.
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
October 13, 2025
Speaker: Pastor Hannah Witte
Description
The Parables of Jesus: The Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector - Pastor Hannah Witte - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 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.
The Parables of Jesus: The Rich Fool
October 6, 2025
Speaker: Pastor Hannah Witte
Description
The Parables of Jesus: The Rich Fool - Pastor Hannah Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard Summary: Pastor Hannah continues our fall series on Jesus' harder parables by welcoming newcomers into a community learning to live in God's unfolding story—transformed by Jesus and belonging across differences with freedom, joy, and boundless generosity. Setting the scene in Luke 12:13–21, she notes how a man interrupts Jesus to demand a fairer inheritance, revealing a heart preoccupied with money. Jesus' warning—"Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions"—frames the parable of the rich fool, whose bumper harvest leads him to hoard rather than share. God's verdict, "You fool," exposes the tragedy of living as if life and wealth belong to us and as if our barns are the point. Pastor Hannah emphasizes that Jesus isn't playing family arbitrator; he's exposing the inner logic of greed that assumes surplus is "for me." The rich man's monologue—"my crops, my barns, my grain"—makes no room for God or neighbor. In contrast, Scripture reveals a generous Father delighted to give his children the kingdom. Earthly wealth cannot cure spiritual poverty, and death renders hoarded treasure useless. To be "rich toward God" is to let God's generosity reframe our identity and our resources, so that our lives announce the nearness of the kingdom through concrete mercy and open-handed care for the poor. Moving from diagnosis to practice, Pastor Hannah offers simple, tangible ways to disrupt greed and cultivate generosity: take breaks from nonessential spending and give the savings away; treat raises as opportunities to increase giving; fast or simplify meals in solidarity with the poor; sell unused possessions to bless others; even carry cash prayerfully to give as the Spirit leads. She shares a moving story of a hidden gift arriving the day a congregant's paycheck failed, awakening joyful praise: "You are real; you see me." The invitation is clear: name greed's pull, adopt practices that form a generous heart, and become the joyful people whose stories at life's end are rich with God's provision shared for everyone's flourishing.
The Parables of Jesus: Love and Liberation
September 29, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Donnell T. Wyche
Description
The Parables of Jesus: Love and Liberation (Luke 16 & Mark 10) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard Summary: In this sermon, The Parables of Jesus: Love and Liberation, Pastor Donnell Wyche explores two passages—Luke 16's parable of the unjust steward and Mark 10's encounter with the rich young ruler—to reveal a God who prioritizes mercy, freedom, and love over judgment and accounting. Pastor Donnell begins by reimagining the parable of the unjust steward, challenging traditional interpretations focused on fairness or stewardship. Instead, he suggests the story unveils a merciful master—a type and shadow of God—who absorbs loss rather than demands repayment. This master, like God, refuses to operate on the logic of karma or retribution, inviting listeners to see the cross not as a transaction of debt but as an announcement of divine liberation. Building on this framework, Pastor Donnell introduces the Christus Victor atonement theory, which sees Jesus' work on the cross as the decisive defeat of the powers that enslave humanity—sin, death, shame, violence, and fear. Rather than satisfying an angry God, Christ's victory liberates us from these forces that distort our identities and relationships. Through examples of Jesus healing the sick, casting out demons, feeding the hungry, and forgiving sins, Pastor Donnell paints a vivid picture of the kingdom of God breaking into the world wherever bondage is replaced by freedom. Each act of compassion and mercy becomes an announcement that God's reign is here and that liberation, not condemnation, is the heart of the gospel. Turning to the rich young ruler, Pastor Donnell invites listeners to see a man not as a villain but as deeply sincere—and deeply anxious. Though devout and blessed, the ruler still feels restless, unable to imagine life apart from his wealth. Jesus' loving gaze—"he looked at him and loved him"—becomes the center of the gospel, revealing that belonging precedes transformation. Jesus doesn't shame the man but names the power that holds him captive and invites him into freedom. Pastor Donnell concludes with a pastoral challenge: to name the powers that hold us captive—money, fear, anxiety, status—and to ask God not for help balancing our moral ledgers but for liberation. In Christ, he reminds us, freedom is both the invitation and the outcome of divine love.
The Parable of the Unjust Steward
September 22, 2025
Speaker: Rev. Donnell T. Wyche
Description
The Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–9) - Pastor Donnell Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 11:00am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard Summary: In this week's message, Pastor Donnell Wyche launches our new series on The Parables of Jesus with one of the most perplexing stories—The Parable of the Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–9). On the surface, Jesus seems to commend a dishonest manager who manipulates accounts for his own survival. This shocking twist unsettles our assumptions about morality, fairness, and what God expects of us. But Pastor Donnell reminds us that Jesus often uses surprising, even uncomfortable stories to reveal deeper truths about grace, forgiveness, and the nature of God's kingdom. By comparing this parable with the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, Donnell shows that both center on sin, mercy, and the restoration of broken relationships. Just as the father in the Prodigal Son story does not demand repayment, the master in the parable does not extract punishment, even when it is deserved. This challenges long-held "economic" views of the cross—where sin is seen as a debt that must be repaid and instead reveals a God who chooses mercy over retribution. Jesus' death on the cross is not a transaction to appease God, but the fullest revelation of God's forgiving love. The parable invites us to honesty about our own lives. Like the steward, we often "cook the books"—hiding truths, justifying ourselves, or finding worth in what we produce. Yet Jesus calls us not to repayment but to confession: "God, I cannot repay—meet me with your mercy." Our freedom lies not in what we can offer but in God's gracious love, which restores, forgives, and sustains us.