Proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage with the utmost patience in teaching.  2 Timothy 4:2

The command to preach the gospel is clearly already well established within the gatherings of the first Christian disciples. It is a ministry of service to the community, a constant and sustained commitment to taking seriously the gospel message, relating it to the needs and challenges of faithful disciples in every generation.

Scott Cowdell’s series of sermons belongs within that tradition. An internationally acknowledged theologian and interpreter of the Scriptures, he brings his rare gifts of insight, sensitivity and informed comment to the task of inviting listeners and readers to reflect on texts set for the church’s high and holy days. The liberating joy of the gospel is proclaimed here in a voice at once thoroughly traditional and strikingly contemporary.

Rejoice and be Glad is a book for fellow preachers and for all who seek to deepen their understanding of the biblical texts and the particular challenges of faithful discipleship in our own times.

…. his sermons contain countless gems of wisdom, wit, scholarship and social commentary. They are a timely reminder of the spiritual, cultural and social value of festivals. – Hugh Mackay AO

Unfailingly centred on Jesus Christ… here is a feast of creative, tough-minded, Bible-centred sermons that engage our questions, follies and self-deceptions.  – Bishop Stephen Pickard
Some are born preachers, some become preachers and some never do. Perhaps it depends on the fire being ignited. Whether Scott Cowdell was a born preacher I know not but I do know that at some point early in his ministry – I have known him since he was a student – the fire was ignited. – Canon David Richardson AO, OBE

Scott Cowdell is a Research Professor in Theology at Charles Sturt University, Canberra. This collection of sermons, selected from across two decades of parish-based preaching in the nation’s capital, displays his excellence as theologian and preacher in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. In 2024, after thirty-five years of Anglican priestly ministry in parishes, theological colleges and universities, he was received into the Roman Catholic Church, where he hopes to be ordained and to develop his preaching ministry in new directions.