Woodhaven Presbyterian Podcast

Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
Woodhaven Presbyterian Church
June 15, 2008
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Genesis 12:1-9; 21:1-7

I know a little blonde boy who does not like it one bit when people laugh at him. Even if he is purposefully trying to make you laugh, he gets upset when he succeeds. We have tried to explain that our laughter is joyful and that it is because he is so sweet. But all he can hear is the sound of someone laughing at him. We guess it makes him feel discounted and demeaned. He does not have the words yet to explain it himself. All he knows is how it feels.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
June 8, 2008
Woodhaven Presbyterian Church
10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Ordination and Installation of Officers
Genesis 12:1-9; Matthew 9:9-13

Both of these stories – the one in Genesis and the one in Matthew—both of them start very abruptly to me. As you read each one, you feel like you have come into a movie theatre ten minutes after the show has started and you need your friend to whisper to you what you have missed. Abram’s call and Matthew’s call feel that way to me. I want to go and get the background – the verses and the stories that come before these two texts. I want to let them get us organized and set the scene to make Abram, Sarai, and Matthew’s calls make better sense.

 (…excerpt from podcast)

 

 Eyes and Feet [17:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
Genesis 1 and John 1:1-5, 14
Trinity Sunday

It was on Tuesday evening when I most recently decided I had lost my preaching mind.  A few weeks ago, it seemed like such a grand idea.  “I shall preach on Genesis 1,” I decided.  I had not wrestled and played with this poetry from Genesis in a long time.  And I thought it would be fun to preach it on Trinity Sunday.  In mid-April, preaching God’s creative activity of Genesis 1 seemed like such a grand idea.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

 Creative Chaos [23:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
May 11, 2008 – Preached on the occasion of the ordination to Minister of Word and Sacrament of Ryan James Baer, candidate of Grace Presbytery.
Mark 10:35-45

I think James and John, sons of Zebedee, would be pleased if they were here to watch all the political action that is happening in our cities and country these days.  In the majority of the political rhetoric, from the local level on up, in one way or another, the question is asked: “What do you want me to do for you?” And in almost every political ad, from the local level on up, in one way or another, the answer is given: “Vote for me and I will look out for your interest.”  The underlying assumption is that if you support a candidate, he or she will bring you up to the top of the power heap along with them.  And you will get to taste a bit of the glory and prestige for yourself. 

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

 Words Hard to Hear [14:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
7th Sunday of Easter
Acts 1:1-14

It is a funny mental picture, isn’t it?  All of those disciples standing around, craning their necks, looking up at…nothing?  Clouds?  The bright sun?  I can see it easily in my imagination.  One of them has a hand shielding his eyes.  Another one has his hands cupping his face.  A third has his fists planted on his hips.  All of them look bewildered, shocked.  One looks very sad.  The rest—confused.  But all of them are looking up at…nothing. 

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

 Can I Get a Witness? [17:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rev. Julie U. Riley
Sixth Sunday of Easter
John 14:15-20

One of the unexpected blessings of ministry has been the privilege of walking with people who are actively dying through that valley of the shadow of death.  During these times, I see glimpses of the kingdom when families come together, allowing years of pain and anger melt away and showering themselves with their love for one another.  It is a moment of grace to see that all the times we have hurt or disappointed one another are minor in light of our love, that nothing can separate us who are held together in God’s love. 

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Amy Baer
Third Sunday of Easter
John 14:1-7

This semester I have been taking a prison ministry class at Columbia Seminary and my classmates and I have been traveling to a men’s prison in Jackson, GA. for weekly pastoral visits with the inmates. Prisons are places that many of us have never visited, and most of us choose to avoid if at all possible, but this morning I would like to take you with me on one of my recent visits.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

 Standard Podcast [23:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
4th Sunday in Easter 
John 10:1-10

I am a part of an on-line community of clergywomen from all different denominations who live all over the county. On Tuesdays, we are invited to jot down and share any sermon thoughts for the upcoming Sunday. This week’s edition of Tuesday Lectionary Leanings was called the “Baa Baa Sheep Edition” because today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Every year we encounter these texts full of shepherding imagery on the 4th Sunday in the Easter season.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

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Rev. Shannon Johnson Kershner
Acts 2:14, 22-24, 36-43
3rd Sunday of Easter

During 1994-1996, I served as a pastoral intern at St Philip Presbyterian Church in Houston.  It was in between college and seminary.  Greg and I were newly married.   We needed to stay in Houston for a couple of years so Greg could put in a decent amount of time at Price Waterhouse.  Then, he could ditch the suit and the tie and head back to graduate school with me.  And, I wanted to work in a church just to make sure this call to ministry was real and valid.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

 What Now? [29:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Rev. Julie U. Riley
John 20:19-31
Second Sunday of Easter

I was not one of the twelve, but I was with them that day. I had followed Jesus for years. I remember the first time I saw him, I had never heard of him before. I actually wasn’t following him that day, we both just so happen to be guest at the same wedding party.

(…excerpt from podcast)

 

 This New Life [12:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download