Malcolm Cox

Teaching Tip 361 | “Plain Speaking - Speak With an Interesting and Clear Voice” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  It is crucial to know what we are talking about and present it with confidence and conviction.  However, what difference does the quality of our voice make? Bercot makes this observation: “In daily conversation, we seem naturally to know how to make our voice pleasant and interesting. We rarely speak in a monotone when talking to friends. but somehow when we’re in front of a congregation we forget to do what comes naturally. That’s why every speaker needs to consciously speak with modulation.” 85 What does this look like? Modulation. We’re talking about variety in pitch, volume, tone and emphasis. Read one of the parables. Can you imagine Jesus sharing it with no variation in his voice? A monotone? I hardly think so. Where do you think he might have placed emphasis—speaki

Introduction What is your picture of the gospel? Doubtless it is affected by your personal spiritual biography and formative spiritual experiences. Is it possible that your view could contain an incomplete or even distorted view of the gospel? For many, the gospel is mostly about forgiveness, going to heaven, and avoiding hell. Is that all? Today is part 1 of two classes designed to refresh and expand our view of what the gospel is, and what it means for us today. 1. Good News The gospel is not 'the gospels' which are the first four books of the New Testament detailing the life of Jesus as recorded by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The English word gospel comes from Old English 'godspel' meaning 'good news'. The ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’ (from the Greek, euangelion). The Scriptural idea is encapsulated in this verse:  Isaiah 52.7  “How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 517 | New Creation Series — Part 9 | “New Creation - New Spirit” | Malcolm Cox    Introduction: Reflecting on Our view of the Spirit  “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 11:19 NIV11) Ezekiel made this remarkable prophecy many centuries before the time of Jesus. On the day of Pentecost, Peter sees a connection between these prophecies, the words of Joel and what is taking place in his time:  ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17 NIV11)  Transformed people who look like Jesus don't develop out of sheer willpower. They grow because God's Spirit is in them and at work. We might start in the right place, but where are we right now?  “Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to fini

Teaching Tip 360 | “Plain Speaking - Speak With Life” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  What does it mean to ‘speak with life’? Well, does your lesson have ‘life’ in it? Does it contain a spark? If so, it will fly from your mouth to your listener’s heart and set it aflame. What does life look like in a speaker? Enthusiasm.  Bercot shares three healthy expressions of enthusiasm in a preacher. Gestures. Our bodies naturally move when we are excited about something and talking about it with a friend. As such, we should not really concern ourselves too deliberately as to our gestures. A lack of movement is likely a sign that we lack enthusiasm for our subject. No artificial use of gestures will fix that. However, pay attention to distracting movement (watching yourself on camera will reveal any problems in that area), and consider any points in your lesson that would be helpfully highlighted

 Quiet Time Coaching Episode 516 | New Creation Series — Part 8 | “New Creation - New Picture of the Gospel, Part 2” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction  A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’.  Introduction: Reflecting on Our view of the Gospel  What is your picture of the gospel? Doubtless it is affected by your personal spiritual biography and formative spiritual experiences. Is it possible that your view could contain an incomplete or even distorted view of the gospel? For many, the gospel is mostly about forgiveness, going heaven, and avoiding hell. Is that all?  Good News  The ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’ (from the Greek, euangelion). The Scriptural idea is encapsulated in this verse:  “How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” (Isaiah 52:7 NAS95)  The image is someone running from the battlefront, bringing good n

Teaching Tip 359 | “Plain Speaking - Listening to your Listeners” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  In the previous episode, we explored eye contact. What does this have to do with listening to our listeners? As Bercot says, ’When you make eye contact with your listeners, you’ll soon find that they’re communicating back to you.’ 75  How does this help our speaking effectiveness? Let’s discuss what to look out for and how to respond. Confusion. When you see frowns and puzzled looks you may not be explaining your point well. It might be time to try a different approach. You could use a fresh illustration, take a different angle, or simply stop and ask ‘Am I making myself clear?’ By the way, the question needs to genuine. I have heard speakers say, “Does that make sense?”, but from insecurity rather than a genuine desire to hear an answer. Disagreement. Occasionally, you might see shaking

Sean St. Jean brought us a deeply moving and assuring lesson based on: Matthew 6.27 ““And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” As he said, "Life is fragile. Anxiety is inevitable. Worry is not." Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org).  If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://[www.malcolmcox.org](http://www.malcolmcox.org/).  Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.  “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)  God bless, Malcolm

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 515 | New Creation Series — Part 7 | “New Creation - New Picture of the Gospel, Part 1” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’.  Introduction: Reflecting on Our view of the Gospel What is your picture of the gospel? Doubtless it is affected by your personal spiritual biography and formative spiritual experiences. Is it possible that your view could contain an incomplete or even distorted view of the gospel? For many, the gospel is mostly about forgiveness, going heaven, and avoiding hell. Is that all? Good News The ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’ (from the Greek, euangelion). The Scriptural idea is encapsulated in this verse: “How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” (Isaiah 52:7 NAS95) The image is someone running from the battlefront, bringing good news of a military victory

Teaching Tip 358 | “Plain Speaking - Eye Contact” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  In the previous episode, we explored conversational preaching. What part does eye contact play? As Bercot says, ’None of us enjoy conversing with someone who rarely looks at us.’ 72  How do we maintain healthy eye contact? Look at people. Make eye contact with specific people - briefly. Don’t stare at someone.   Move around. Look at people in the front row, the back row, the balcony, the left, the right—neglect no part of the room.  Include the camera. If the lesson is being streamed live to people online, look directly at the camera from time to time.  What else do we need to consider? Screens. If you are reading text from a screen, take your eyes off the screen periodically to look at the people in the room. Notes. It is OK to look at your notes, but do not do so for long. Aim for a glance. 

Stefan gives us the reasons behind why it's important that we are a new creation. Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community.  Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org).  If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://[www.malcolmcox.org](http://www.malcolmcox.org/).  Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.  “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)  God bless, Malcolm

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 514 | New Creation Series — Part 6 | “New Creation - New Picture of Self” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’.  Introduction: Reflecting on Our Inner Image Have you ever seen yourself on video? I first saw myself on film during a preaching training session.  Questions flooded my mind: Did I really stand like that? Was my face contorting in such a way? Why was I staring at the floor while speaking? It was an eye-opening experience. However, our internal view of ourselves is more significant than physical behaviour.   1. The Critical Importance of Self-Perception Often, we carry unhealthy scripts in our minds, oscillating between "I'm not good enough" and "I'm the centre of the universe." As Christians, it's vital to develop a healthy view of ourselves because our growth into a new creation hinges on cooperating with God's transformative process (2 Corinthians 3:18): “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seein

What is my picture of myself? Introduction - Do you like how you look? Have you ever seen yourself on video? How did you react. I'll never forget the first time I saw myself on film. We had a preaching training session. Each of us gave a short presentation while being videoed. We received immediate feedback from the people present, but were asked to watch ourselves on the video later. I was shocked. Did I really stand like that? Was my face actually contorting in that way? Why was I staring at the floor while speaking?! It was an eye-opening experience. - However, our inner view of ourselves matters much more than wether we have an accurate picture of our physical behaviour. - Our picture of ourselves is shaped by our picture of God. Correcting the latter is vital before attempting to heal the former. - Common to have unhealthy scripts in our heads - either "I'm not good enough" and/or "I'm the centre of the universe". Most of have both, but at different times in different circumstances. Why is my pictu

Teaching Tip 357 | “Plain Speaking - Speak Conversationally” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  In the previous episode we explored being ourselves when speaking. As Bercot says, ’The ultimate expression of being yourself is speaking conversationally.’ Why does this matter, and how do we do it? Domination is deadly. Have you ever been at a party where you’ve been cornered by a bore? You know the kind of person. The one who speaks at you, does not recognise social cues, tells you everything they want you to hear, but shows no interest in you or your interests. Perhaps you’ve even been that person! No one enjoys that experience. Inconsiderate preaching can be like that - but it doesn’t have to be and should not be. Congregations that are talked at switch off. What a tragedy! Conversation is connection. Good conversation connects people. ‘We’ are talking, not one person. Most blocks  of Jesus’

Exploring Our Picture of God What is your picture of God? We're diving into deep stuff today: Our impressions of God and how they affect us. Let's take a stroll down memory lane and see how our views of God have evolved over the years. Childhood Impressions Remember when you were a kid? For me, God seemed distant and holy, except when I thought about Jesus. He made God feel closer, more like a friend than a distant deity. As I got older, the hymns and anthems I sang at church started making God seem more majestic, like a huge, powerful, creative force. Why Does Our Picture of God Matter? A.W. Tozer said, "What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us" It's so true, isn’t it? Our image of God shapes who we are and how we relate to others. If we see God as loving, we're more likely to be loving ourselves. But if we see Him as angry or distant, it can mess with our heads. Dallas Willard put it this way: "The single most important thing about us is our idea of Go

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 513 | New Creation Series — Part 5 | “New Creation - New Picture” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on the topic of ‘A new creation’. New Creation - New Picture Exploring Our Picture of God: A Journey of Understanding and Healing What is your picture of God? We're diving into deep stuff today: Our impressions of God and how they affect us. Let's take a stroll down memory lane and see how our views of God have evolved over the years. Childhood Impressions Remember when you were a kid? For me, God seemed distant and holy, except when I thought about Jesus. He made God feel closer, more like a friend than a distant deity. As I got older, the hymns and anthems I sang at church started making God seem more majestic, like a huge, powerful, creative force. Why Does Our Picture of God Matter? A.W. Tozer said, "What comes into our mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us" It's so true, isn’t it? Our image of Go

Introduction QUESTION: Smell, touch, hearing, sight, taste - which sense is most important to you and why? 1. Death Smells Bad  A. Lazarus, Jesus “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.”” (John 11:39 NIV11) Spices needed:  “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs.” (John 19:39-40 NIV11) Death smells bad! B. Living death? QUESTION: What do we use to distract us from the things we fear? 2. Resurrection Life Smells Good A. Jesus “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.” (Mark 16:1-2) “[John] bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips o

Teaching Tip 356 | “Plain Speaking - Be Yourself” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  Are you trying to sound like someone else when you speak? Please don’t. You have a personality for a reason. Be yourself.  Reading the public teachings of Jesus and Paul, it is clear they spoke differently. If the book of James is a collection of sermons as many scholars think, they also ‘sound’ very different from Jesus. Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel are different in style as well as content.  Imagine if every preacher sounded exactly the same. Not only would we find it hard not to get bored, but something more profound would be lost - authenticity. 1. Authenticity. Learning from other speakers is valuable, but attempting to be them is not. Your congregation knows you and wants to hear from you - not an AI version of yourself. 2. Distractions. If your ‘natural’ style includes mumbling, shuffling or staring at the c

Sense of smell In terms of the number of distinguishable stimuli, our sense of smell can detect thousands of different odours. Additionally, smell is closely linked to memory and emotion. During the COVID epidemic many sufferers lost their sense of smell, and speaking for myself I’ve occasionally experienced phantom smells - quite often dog poo! What do smells have to do with Easter? Death smells bad Perhaps you remember Martha’s comment when Jesus ordered that the stone blocking Lazarus’ tomb be removed: “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.”” (John 11:39 NIV11) It’s not surprising Martha was reluctant to open the tomb. After four days of death, she knew her brother’s body would smell bad. Spices were used to reduce the bad smell. Consider what happened when Jesus was buried: “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in

Sense of smell In terms of the number of distinguishable stimuli, our sense of smell can detect thousands of different odours. Additionally, smell is closely linked to memory and emotion. During the COVID epidemic many sufferers lost their sense of smell, and speaking for myself I’ve occasionally experienced phantom smells - quite often dog poo! What do smells have to do with Easter? Death smells bad Perhaps you remember Martha’s comment when Jesus ordered that the stone blocking Lazarus’ tomb be removed: “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.”” (John 11:39 NIV11) It’s not surprising Martha was reluctant to open the tomb. After four days of death, she knew her brother’s body would smell bad. Spices were used to reduce the bad smell. Consider what happened when Jesus was buried: “Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strip

Paul Smith was our visiting speaker in Watford for Palm Sunday. He gave a fascinating insight into the triumphal entry to Jerusalem made by Jesus the week before he died. Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community. Do you have a question about teaching the Bible? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send me your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org. If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: http://www.malcolmcox.org. Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review. “Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11) God bless, Malcolm