Kearney First UMC Podcasts

Jesus and the Canaanite Woman

Welcome to our Sunday sermon podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt looks at Jesus's interaction with the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15.  In this passage, we see lines that have been drawn and Jesus crossing them.  Have we seen any lines drawn in our lives?  Have we drawn our own lines?  Have we gotten too comfortable on the "right side/our side" of the line that we refuse to acknowledge the other side? God's mission and the work of the Holy Spirit extends beyond and across any and every line humanity could ever draw.  The kingdom of God has no line of boundary for receiving God's grace, healing, and wholeness.  Our challenge is how do we let Jesus help us cross the lines we've drawn in the "us vs. them" to hear and care for the people on the other side.

Taking Time to Be Still

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt looks at Jesus intentionally taking time to be alone in Matthew 14 and the feeding of the 5000.  Taking time to be with God gives us space to be conduits through which God can and does work. Being still with God so that God's presence can become part of our presence with others. Have we been present enough to notice someone else's struggle?

Treasure: Growing Seeds

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon Podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen explains that parables help us look forward to our "one day, someday" in Heaven.  The kingdom of Heaven is a great treasure to look forward to and we have a taste of now through living life with Jesus.

Parables of Small Things

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt looks at the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of Yeast.  Both represent the Kingdom of Heaven and God's grace growing in and through us. Transformation takes time, but it does happen.

Whoever Has Ears, Let Them Hear

Welcome to the Sunday Sermon Podcast!  Please note, this sermon has a couple of audio corruption moments that we were unable to fix in editing. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. 
In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen looks at the parable of wheat and weeds.  Jesus didn't want us to wait to start living like Him.  "All who has ears, let them hear," includes us today!  What do you hear in the parables of Matthew and in scripture?  Are you a seed?  God is an extravagant God and God grows in us something bigger than we can ever imagine which reminds us that the Kingdom of Heaven is more extravagant than we can ever imagine.

The Parable of the Weeds

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt briefly talks about what a parable is from a literary genre perspective and reads the Parable of the Weeds from Matthew 13.  Matt invites us to think of the farmer in the story as God.  God knows how things will work out and has the patience to see things through.  God knows that we will grow.  God is active in our lives to draw out God's character to make us more like Jesus.  Even when we are in the weeds, God is committed to our growth and patient enough to see it through.

The Kingdom is Like... the Parable of the Sower

Welcome to our Sunday morning Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt shares the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13.  Perhaps when you read or listen to this parable, you worry about what kinds of soil you are.  Matt invites us to take a step back and remember that this is the Parable of the Sower, not the Parable of the Soils.  Jesus shows us the shape of God's extravagantly generous and gracious character that falls on us because God declares it so.  Like the Sower, God doesn't get frustrated but continues to sow.  God continues to work God's grace in us.

Telling Your Story in Community

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen looks at the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13.  She makes note that you can read the parable literally or metaphorically, much like some stories in our lives.  How we tell our own stories of faith are sometimes told very literally while others have deeper or hidden meanings.  Having a community that we can share our stories with is a wonderful and fruitful thing to have and engage with.  You never know who may need to hear your story.

Jesus on Sabbath Keeping

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Jen Gibbs invites us to take a look at the Sabbath.  Taking a Sabbath wasn't intended to be a luxury.  God declares that everyone and everything deserves rest.  Jen challenges us to go against he pressures of the world and take back time to rest rather than be pushed by society to always be busy.  Rather than seeing Sabbath as a burden in our schedule, look at it as a blessing.  We are not what we do, but who we live by. Sabbath is a time to reconnect with God.

Taking a Sabbath

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen share some of her thoughts on Sabbath and how true the phase, "You don't know how much you need a Sabbath until you take one." really is.