Author: Howard

In recent weeks I have been struggling to get my podcast up on site in anything like enough time to make it useful to other preachers as an aid to preparation. Some visitors have obviously found it useful to download after the Sunday to which it refers, maybe to compare with what you have already… Continue reading Time out …

This year, Matthew’s famous opening to the Sermon on the Mount, known as The Beatitudes, got omitted from the cycle of Sunday gospel readings, because it was displaced by Candlemass. What a pity, given that this passage takes prime place in Matthew’s presentation of Jesus as teacher and disciple-maker. It is his most important statement… Continue reading All Saints …. including Pharisees?

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading Matthew has a tricky situation to deal with: in Mark’s gospel, which he is copying and adapting, Jesus has some things to say about how the Pharisees interpret the scriptures, both those dealing with commandments and those dealing with theology. Matthew’s problem is that in relation to the former, Mark… Continue reading The Wrong Way to Win an Argument?

The separation of church and state has its good aspects, but is not an idea we can take out Jesus’ reply to the Pharisees’ question about taxes in Matthew 22. Rather, the question Jesus throws back to them is a challenge for us too … Whose money have we got in our pockets, and what… Continue reading Render to Caesar? Really?

One retired colleague who gets to hear me preach regularly, said to me recently, “I listen to your online comments, but your preaching is better.” I should hope so! For one thing, I enjoy communicating face to face with a live audience more than the one-way communication inherent in my weekly podcasts. On the other… Continue reading “It is better here than there …”

I have posted my podcast/comments on this Sunday’s gospel reading very late in the week … on Saturday evening, in fact. Things just got in the way, as they say, and moreover, I struggled with the text. This could make it more useful for those interested in what I have to say to check that… Continue reading Better late than ….

In an attempt to stimulate open discussion of the weekly video I have been offering on this site under the general title, Preparing to Preach, I have decided to switch this front page to a more conventional blog format. So this is my first post of a new era! And this will take you to… Continue reading Changing the Furniture …