Steven Kurtz's Podcast Steven Kurts

Like the American Civil Rights Movement, the early Jesus Movement produced songs.  Luke incorporates them in his Gospel: songs are sung by Mary, the Angels, Zechariah and Hannah.  Mary's song, the Magnificat, is a pastiche of lines and echoes of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) structured according to Hannah's song - the mother of Samuel, which is found in Hanna's Song, 1 Samuel 2:1-10.  Together they look at the stories in the Hebrew Bible, but they do so through the lens of Jesus' teaching.

Video will be at the YouTube channel of the Central Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR after the Sunday

service, under the Traditional Services playlist.

Text is here.

What if the next right thing we need to do is hard?  What makes it hard?  Reflections on Luke 3:1-6

Text is here

Video will be available at the YouTube channel of the Central Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR, after the Sunday Service. Click on the Tradtional Services playlist.

There are practices that make a difference.   We don't have to go down the rabbit hole of pessimism.  This reflection on Luke 21:25-36 is about how to not go crazy with everything that is happening around us.

The text is here.

Video will be available here at the YouTube channel of the Central Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR. after the Sunday service on the Traditional Services playlist.

Jesus' main t theme was that the Kingdom of God was a present reality.  How does that effect our relationship with modern politics?  That is what I explore in this reflection on John 18:33-37.

Text is at my blog site.

Video will be available after the Sunday service at the YouTube channel of the Central Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR under the Traditional Services playlist.

3 Times Peter denied Jesus, but his redemption story is that 3 Times he asnswered affirmatively to Jesus' question, "Do you love me?"  After his redemption, Jesus 3 times commissions him to shepherd his people.  That's the church's commission too; how have we done?  What are we doing in this time of great transition?  These reflections are about those quesitons.

The text is at my blogsite

Video will be available after the service at the YouTube channel of the Central Presbyterian Church, Fort Smith, AR. under the Tradtitional Services playlist

What makes life meaningful?  Honor?  Wealth?  Not according to Jesus.  This is an example story, but not a story of a good example (a widow making a great sacrifice out of deep religous devotion) rather a bad example story, of wealthy pepole fleecing vulnerable poor people under the guise of religion.

Text is at my blog site.