Kearney First UMC Podcasts

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen reminds us that Jesus always filled people tummy's, and made room at the table. She explained that the way to someone's heart is their stomach, and that you should always strive to be the person offering others food.

We dive into a new format for the podcast, starting with a devotional.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Matt reminds us to watch out, and care for our neighbors, and to respectively be a venerable neighbor willing to accept others help.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jen reminds us that we all have our own calling stories, and that going out of our comfort zone to pursue God's calling is ok.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen reminds us that going out of your comfort zone to peruse God is ok.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen reminds that children play a key role in our lives.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Matt reminds us about whom is our neighbor.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Matt challenges us to think about how to live In a political world.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen challenges us to think about choosing Jesus over power, and being called to serve.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Matt Challenges us to think about Inheriting systems in our lives, and learning to appreciate them and how politics and order fall into our lives.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen challenges us to think about the life cycle of Caterpillars, how working life has improved, and the life of Dolly Parton.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen challenges us to think about Loving everyone, and gods unconditional love for everyone.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen challenges us to think about time and how to spend it, volunteering, and seasons of life.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Matt challenges us to think about Interpretation, planning, and how to apply Wisdom to your life.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast! In this sermon, Pastor Matt challenges us to think about worrying less, taking life easy, and giving our day to day worries to god.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt challenges us to think about these questions:

Welcome to our Monday Morning podcast!  This is the final episode of our midweek podcast.  In this episode, Pastor Matt invites us to trying praying scripture using our own perspective, taking ancient words and making them our own as a way to draw closer to God.

Welcome to our Monday morning podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen challenges us to think about what Heaven will be like and how we can live as if Heaven were here.  How would your life change if you lived as if Jesus were coming back today?

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen explores God is Love through the story of a quilt.  She invites you to ponder these questions as you listen:

Welcome to our Monday Morning Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt asks how do you remember things?  Do you use a calendar, sticky notes, strings, or another method?  How do you remember all that God has done for you?

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen asks, "Where is your safe space?"  Is it a physical space, a person, or a memory?

How does David’s honesty in pouring out his complaint before God reflect his relationship with God?

In what ways can we relate to David’s feelings of loneliness and being “overwhelmed” in our own lives?

How can we cultivate the same level of trust in God that David demonstrates?

If you were to write your own prayer in the style of Psalm 142, what would...

Welcome to our Monday Morning podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt explores a little bit of the story of David hiding from Saul and Psalm 14.  He asks if you have ever felt alone even though people may have been around you?  Are we honest with God when we feel isolated or abandoned?

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt explores the feelings of God knowing everything.  When you were a kid, did news of what you had been up to get home before you did? Did your parents seem to know everything? Is the idea of God knowing everything comforting or discomforting to you and why? What are the differences between “knowing” and “controlling” everything, and does one or the other frustrate you, give you peace, or something else?

Welcome to our Monday Morning Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt walks through Psalm 139 and asks, "Can we surprise God?"

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon Podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt asks what was the last thing you saw that brought you a sense of awe? What is the main point of Genesis 1?  Does thinking about or believing in God as creator ask anything of you as an individual or us as humans? If so, what?  If the interpretive trajectory of the sermon on Genesis 1 (and 2) is new or different to you, what other questions or interpretations do you have?

Welcome to our Monday Morning Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen reads part of the creation story in Genesis 1.  She asks how we are taking time to be in creation and how we care for it.  She share a little bit about the upcoming sermon series that looks at the same themes our children explored during Vacation Bible School.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen shares part of her calling story and how it is not always a straight forward path. 

What does it mean to discern God’s calling when you feel like you already have your life all figured out?

What ways might God be nudging- or yanking- you out of your comfort zone?

What would be one easy way and one harder way to respond to God’s calling today?

Is there an “age limit” … too young or too old … to be called by G...

Welcome to our Monday Morning Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen shares about getting a call, but not wanting to answer it right away.  Have you had a calling like this? She shares how we are given many callings throughout our lives that may or may not come when we are ready for them.  There is no such thing as being too old, too settled, or too stuck in our ways to answer God's call.

Welcome to our Sunday sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen shares some of the stories of women who have been influential in her call to ministry and what each one instilled in her.  What barriers are keeping us from answering God's call on our lives?

Welcome to our Monday Morning Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen shares a little bit about our upcoming series.  Each of us receive a call from God, how do you answer this call?

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon Podcast!  Today, things were a little different from a regular Sunday.  Our Annual Conference finished this weekend and Pastors Matt and Jo Ellen along with a laity member, Michelle, share about their experiences during conference. They ask, are you watching for God's joy?  Will you share your joy?

Welcome to our Monday morning podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt invites us to pray Psalm 100 with observation. Praise does not spring from a delusion that things are better than they are, but rather from the human capacity for joy.  Are our prayer definitions too small if we think we can only pray one way?

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt invites us to ponder these questions:

Welcome to our Monday Morning podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt reads through Psalm 46 and invites us to ponder a few questions.  When have we experienced God being a present help in times of trouble?  When have we experienced times of trouble and felt like God was not our refuge or strength?  In what ways does God end violence through Jesus?  In what ways might God through Jesus call us to end violence in ways Jesus did?

Extra resource: United Methodist Social Principles: The Political Community

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen looks at a hard scripture for graduates today.  Life has lots of lemons.  Some are good lemons that we can make into lemonade, others are not so good that we may struggle with.  What do we do with our lemons?  Have there been times in your life when you did not know where your life was going? Ponder a time in life when the path was much clearer, when you saw this from the “end of the journey” instead of the start. How does hindsight help us ponder th...

Welcome to our Monday Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Jo Ellen offers a prayer for all of our graduates from little preschoolers through to doctoral students.  She encourages all of us to live into God's Will and lean on God in all stages of our lives.

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Matt invites us to think of times when others have offered us advice.  Did you take that advice right away?  Did you think about it for a while? Did you ask others for their opinions? Pastor Matt challenges us to foster relationships of grace and humility with one another so we may discover God guiding us to whole and beautiful lives together.

Welcome to our Monday morning podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt asks how do we take Jesus' yoke upon us?  How do we learn from Him?  Do we trust Jesus to be gentle and humble in heart like He says He is?

Welcome to our Sunday Sermon Podcast!  In this sermon, Pastor Jo Ellen reminds us that God calls each of us by name.  When God speaks, do we listen?  Our confirmation students are a gift to our church and the world.  We are so proud of them and the steps they've made in their faith journey!  Pastor Jo Ellen shares some of the letters the confirmands have written reflecting on why they wanted to be confirmed.

Welcome to our Monday Podcast!  In this episode, Pastor Matt asks, "How do we know the right thing or the truth when finding our calling? How do we know when we are finding our calling? Do we expect God to speak in only certain ways to us or for us?"