Colossians: The People of God in the Age of Empire – The Unco-opted Christ (Colossians 1:15-20) - Rev. Donnell T. Wyche - a2vc.org. Like us on fb.com/vineyardannarboror watch our livestream Sundays @ 10:45am - vimeo.com/annarborvineyard 

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, the one who holds all things together. Pastor Donnell challenges us to see worship not as private devotion but as public resistance — an act of allegiance to a kingdom that values humility, peace, and sacrificial love over the power, dominance, and platform of empire.

Drawing on rich historical context and vivid contemporary parallels, Pastor Donnell names how empire continues to shape our world through fear, fragmentation, and injustice. Yet in a world that feels unstable and disillusioned, Christ invites us to a different imagination — one rooted not in scarcity but in abundance, not in domination but in reconciliation. He reminds us that Christ’s death was not a defeat but the planting of a seed that bursts into new creation, calling us to participate in God’s ongoing work of healing, resistance, and restoration.

Throughout the sermon, Pastor Donnell gently yet boldly calls us to faithful resistance: to make Christ, not empire, the center of our lives; to embody peace, generosity, and mercy in a world hungry for hope; and to trust that even in the ruins, Christ is making all things new. As we contend with grief, fear, and low trust, we are invited to breathe deeply, to anchor ourselves in Christ’s sustaining love, and to live as witnesses to a kingdom that does not co-opt or conquer, but sets us free.