Kearney First UMC Podcasts

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.

Jesus Heals with Great Love and Kindness

Welcome to the Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen looks at Jesus healing the bleeding woman and Jairus' daughter in Matthew 9.  As you listen, think about if you have ever needed healing.  In each of the stories shared in Matthew, no one earned Jesus' healings.  For some, they were coming to Jesus as a last resort.  It didn't matter how they came to Jesus, it mattered that they came to Him. They were given healing freely with kindness.  They came as they were just like we should come to Jesus.  Whole-ness comes from God and you are never lost to Jesus, even in the crowdedness of the world.

Jesus's Identity as a Healer

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt looks at Matthew 8 which contains many stories of Jesus healing people.  He reflects on Jesus's identity as a healer and the nature of God's kingdom.

Sermon on the Mount: The Main Thing

Welcome to our Sunday sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt looks at Matthew 7.  He comments that sometimes we see the Christian Life as a strict set of rules of "do this, don't do that."  In the sermon on the mount, there are a few rules and "do this, don't do that" examples, but as a whole, it is about living as a whole in society and how we treat others.  It is an introspective guide on how to think through every part of our lives.  Our guide on how to live our lives with others to reflect Jesus.  Jesus invites us into His wisdom with intentionality, graciousness, and humility.

Being God's Beloved

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen shares a little bit about her time at the chautauqua in Ohio.  She reflects that we are all God's beloved.  There is no "us" or "them."  We are all loved and made whole in Jesus and we are called to seek God.

Sermon on the Mount: Trust

Welcome to our Sunday Morning Podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt asks, "How do you define trust?"  We often see trust as transactional, but that's not the same with God.  God give with no strings attached.  We can trust in God who never gives up on us.

Learning Jesus' Way and Centering on Him

Welcome to our midweek podcast!  In this week's episode, Pastor Matt looks at the next section of Matthew 6 building off of his Sunday sermon.  The Sermon on the Mount includes Jesus' instructions to live His way and how to keep Jesus at the center of our lives.