Malcolm Cox

Teaching Tip 366 | “Plain Speaking - Reading Scriptures with Zest” | 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's of utmost importance that when you read from the Bible, it enhances your sermon rather than detracts from it." 112 Bercot offers several tips. Five are below. Check your references Read an intelligible translation Repeat the Scripture reference Pause before reading Read with expression. For example, think of how different Matthew 5.3 sounds when we read it with meaning. What are your thoughts on the techniques Bercot raises?  Conclusion Next time, we will speak about the special place for devotionals. Has today’s tip been worth two minutes of your time? I hope so. Remember to keep calm and carry on teaching. Consider joining AIM UK&Ireland to develop your understanding of Scripture: https://aimukandireland.com/. Our next module is Spiritual Life. Contact us here with enqu

Introduction A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’. Today, another model that may help us understand how God changes us. This week we take a look at a model of spiritual growth put forward by Trevor Hudson. His model is a variation on the model developed by Dallas Willard we explored in QTC 521. See a picture of the model here. Hudson's take is very similar to Willard's. We will focus on the key difference - community. However, first a brief comment on what he calls the "Divine friendship with the Trinity". "Redeemed people are redeemed to God and to his community. God is Community, and so are his people. We need to recover a proper appreciation for the Trinitarian doctrine of God, and noting how it affects thinking about community." 'A Particular People -- Toward a faithful and effective Ecclesiology' -- Inagrace T. Dietterich Bear in mind that this model is no formula. In community with individuals Our closest relationships are the litmus test of our growth.

Introduction
 A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’. Today, the connection between being a new creation and change.  How do we change?
Before we can talk about change, we have to ask a question. Do we believe we can change? Do you believe you can change?
You might like to pause this recording and discuss this with your friends before going on. 1. God is the change-agent
“…are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NRSV) We are in an ongoing, life-long process of change. The glory we grow into is from the Lord, the Spirit. Spiritual change is challenging, but it is not all about us. God empowers the change, our part is to cooperate with him. If we fully accept that God is the change-agent, then we will have no difficulty believing that we can change. So, God changes us, but what is the goal? 2. Change goal
Is the goal transformation? Yes, but, what is the point of that tran

Introduction  Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  "Bloopers and memory lapses are no big deal...you can conquer the fear they've held over you."  Bercot offers the following advice.  Own Up If something minor goes wrong, don't draw attention to it. Otherwise the congregation will be unnecessarily distracted. Not so long ago I didn't have the page numbers printed on my sermon notes. I got the pages in a muddle. Rather than draw attention to the fact, I paused for a few moments to sort them out. I doubt anybody noticed. However, if it's obvious to everyone, acknowledge it. When you're having a conversation with a friend and your mind suddenly goes blank and you say, "I've completely forgotten what I was going to say next!", everyone laughs and no one thinks it's a big deal. If something like that happens when you are delivering a lesson, simply tell the congregation. Have a laugh together, and it will help your congregatio

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

Embracing the Lord's Supper as a Joyful and Communal Event Luke 15.23 “Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.” This is why we come here—to celebrate! Part of that celebration is what we call ‘the Lord's Supper’. Another part is prayer - what can we celebrate in prayer this morning? Let's pray together... Part 2: Let's have a feast and celebrate Hand out capsules at start Introduction Today, we will focus more deeply on the Lord's Supper / Communion. We will take more time over it after some teaching and discussion. QUESTION: What is the Lord's Supper? QUESTION: Why do we do it? What is it for? 1. What Did Jesus Do and Expect His Followers to Do, and Why? Luke 22.19-20 “And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” ‘do this’ - what is the

Introduction  A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’. Today, one model that may help us understand how God changes us.  In previous episodes we have explored the nature of spiritual growth - that it is both practical and mystical. This week we take a look at a model of spiritual growth put forward by Dallas Willard - something he called, "The golden triangle of spiritual growth".  By the way, before we go on, both he and I would be appalled if the model came across as a formula.  Centred in the mind of Christ   The mind is our centre. How we think shapes everything. We need to centre in the mind of Christ if we are to see transformation. That way we learn to see things the way Jesus sees them. 1 Corinthians 2.16  ““For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.” Philippians 2.5  “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” The work of the Holy Spirit God's power is what transf

Teaching Tip 364 | “Plain Speaking - how to handle speaker’s fright” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  An old survey claimed that people fear speaking in public more than they fear death. That claim has been debunked, but it resonates because talking in front of other people is one of the very most exposed places to be. We are vulnerable. What do we do when our insecurities take hold? In short, we do not attempt to overcome it, but to use it to our advantage. Bercot offers five steps. Pray about it. Talk to God about you feelings, ask him to be with you experientially in this next lesson, and trust his strength will be available (Nehemiah 2:4-5).  Focus on your listeners.  Do not follow the terrible advice to imagine your audience naked! That’s distracting in the extreme. Instead, remember they are your brothers and sisters, and they have turned up because they want to hear from you (at

Our annual international Sunday was a blast! Wonderful international food, singing in different languages and much more. As part of the service we heard Joshua tell us his testimony and Malcolm spoke on how we find freedom in the peace of Christ. 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

I have been asked why we charge for AIM. It's a reasonable question and deserves an explanation. 1. Expenses: costs of admin; AIM US subscription; Travel and accommodation costs for speakers; venue hire; printing etc. 2. Para-church attendance: It would not be fair on one church to foot the bill when people attend from many different churches Conclusion Money should never be a reason for someone to not take the course. By discussing any financial challenges with us and the local congregation, we can always find a way to make the course affordable. In our opinion it would be reasonable for local churches to pay all or part of the fees for students coming from their congregations because of the immense benefit of having members Biblically well-educated. Your brother, Malcolm malcolm@malcolmcox.org https://aimukandireland.com/

Introduction Last week we explored the nature of spiritual growth. That it is empowered by God, aimed at Christlikeness and enabled by Jesus. “[We]…are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NRSV) This week we will take the last point further and look at some key principles of spiritual change. Spiritual growth is: 1. Both practical and mystical Our main avenue for spiritual growth is to walk with Jesus as one of his followers - just like they did when Jesus was on this earth. On one level, simply saying 'yes' to Jesus' offer of friendship is all that is needed. As someone said, ‘Proximity makes disciples’. “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13 NIV11) In addition, we grow as we cooperate with the Spirit, which is a mystical enterprise. “The wind blows wherever

Teaching Tip 363 | “Plain Speaking - landing your plane on time” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  “Your message may be nearly perfect in every other respect, but if you preach longer than you are supposed to, you can quickly lose the good will of your listeners.” 95 Bercot offers us four steps for us to take to ensure we land on time. Fit the topic to the time. How much time is allocated to your lesson? Will the topic fit that time? If your lesson is 10  minutes long, do not try to explain deep and complex passages of Scripture or Biblical issues.  Whittle to fit.  When you have your material selected ruthlessly cut out anything that is not absolutely necessary to the topic. You can always come back to the text or the subject another time and fill in anything you missed first time around.   Keep track as you go.  Have a clock or time where you can see it. The best place is on the wa

Introduction Before we can talk about change, we have to ask a question. Do we believe we can change? Do you believe you can change? 1. God is the change-agent “…are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NRSV) We are in an ongoing, life-long process of change. The glory we grow into is from the Lord, the Spirit. Spiritual change is challenging, but it is not all about us. God empowers the change, our part is to cooperate with him. If we fully accept that God is the change-agent, then we will have no difficulty believing that we can change. So, God changes us, but what is the goal? 2. Change goal “So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV) Is the goal transformation? Yes, but, what is the key element that makes that goal possible? What are we aiming at? “…the goal of Christian spiritual formation is intima

Introduction What is your picture of the gospel? If we are to fully embrace all that it means to be a new creation, we need a clear and compelling vision of the gospel. In the previous class we explored the fact that the gospel is good news, as well as the way Jesus defined the good news, and how we can cultivate a healthy view of the gospel. Today is part 2 of two classes designed to refresh and expand our view of what the gospel is, and what it means for us today. A skinny gospel of forgiveness and going to heaven needs fleshing out into the full picture of what Jesus was teaching, demonstrating and offering. Before we get into the main points, just a reminder that the gospel (new good news) is the coming of the kingdom. Mark 1.14-15 “Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”” What are some of the implications of the arrival of the Kingdom fo

Teaching Tip 362 | “Plain Speaking - five things that can spoil an otherwise good sermon” | Malcolm Cox  Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  As a delicious dish can be ruined by one lousy ingredient, so a good lesson can be spoiled by small distractions. What might seem a minor detail to you as a speaker may appear majorly problematic to your hearers. Bercot offers us five issues to consider.  Mispronunciation. The odd word here or there is no big deal. However, if it is crucial to your topic it is a big deal. Mispronouncing an important word destroys your credibility and leads to significant distraction. Imagine a doctor mispronouncing the name of your medical condition. How would you feel? Poor Posture and Distracting Movements.  Stand and move in a manner appropriate to your context. Some church contexts suit more movement than others. How people are seated, the sight lines and amplification system w

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 518 | New Creation Series — Part 10 | “New Creation - New Learning” | Malcolm Cox Introduction  A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’. Today, the connection between being a new creation and learning.  Learning to Learn  I was very impatient when learning to drive. I wanted to take as few lessons as possible. Partly because I wanted to drive without somebody else in the car (in my space!), and partly because I was an impoverished student at the time. After I passed my test I enjoyed driving solo. However, I had no conception of how much more there still was to learn about driving. The first evidence of that was when I ran out of petrol on the M20 while driving my then girlfriend to Dover Castle (Penny eventually forgave me!). To follow Jesus is to take on the identity of a life-long learner. However much we learn about him this side of glory, we have only touched the edge of all that we could learn. A disciple - the word mathetes means stu

Matthew 6.26 “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Life makes us question whether God cares 1. Jesus Needed God's Care Luke 3.21-22 “Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”” Luke 9.34-36 “While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.” Wilderness angels Mark 1.13 “and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animal

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, “