Malcolm Cox

In our series exploring God doing "a new thing" in biblical characters, Stefan took us into Nehemiah's world. What new things is God calling Nehemiah to? How does his faith develop? What can we learn from Nehemiah about allowing God to do a new thing in us and our church? 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

In our series exploring God doing "a new thing" in biblical characters, Archie & Jasmine Higgin took us into Peter's world. What new things is God calling Peter to? How does his faith develop? What can we learn from Peter about allowing God to do a new thing in us and our church? 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 499 | New Thing Series — Part 54 | “Peter’s Vulnerability - Part 3” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of the Apostle Peter. Today we explore Peter’s vulnerability.  “…early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.” Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning t

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 498 | New Thing Series — Part 53 | “Peter’s Vulnerability - Part 2” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of the Apostle Peter. Today we explore Peter’s vulnerability.  “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter,

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 497 | New Thing Series — Part 52 | “Peter’s Vulnerability - Part 1” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of the Apostle Peter. Today we explore Peter’s vulnerability. “He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled their pa

Teaching Tip 350 | “Plain Speaking - Having a goal” | Malcolm Cox Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on chapter 2 of the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  Every meaningful activity has a goal. The nature of the goal will vary, but the goal will be clear to those involved. Bercot uses the illustrations of playing volleyball and building a house. There is no point gathering to play or build without a goal in mind. Is this applicable to speaking in church? Yes, because God’s word is ‘alive and active’ — it does things. Our hope in speaking about God is surely to be effective (Acts 14.1). No, we are not reducing preaching to a formula, but we are recognising that a lesson aimed at nothing is sure to hit it.  Let me illustrate with a personal example. At the time of recording I am preparing a lesson on Abraham. It is part of the “A New Thing” series (Isaiah 43). The topic is “A New Thing”, the character used to illustrate God doing a new thing is Ab

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 496 | New Thing Series — Part 51 | “Peter’s Inadequacy” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of the Apostle Peter. Today we explore Peter’s inadequacy.  “…they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you w

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 495 | New Thing Series — Part 50 | “Peter’s Reward” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of the Apostle Peter. Today we explore Peter’s reward.  “He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come an

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 494 | New Thing Series — Part 49 | “Nehemiah’s Vision” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s vision.  “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’” (Nehemiah 1:8-9 NRSV) “Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer suffer disgrace.”” (Nehemiah

'A New Thing' Class -- Peter, Thames Valley churches of Christ, February 2024 Apostle of hope - there is always hope for a new 'new thing' Introduction * Peter's life is an inspiring example of how God does not lose hope in us, and we do not need to lose hope in God * Whatever happens on our discipleship journey, God is always ready to grant us a new 'new thing'. 1. Peter's start - ““Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:8-11 NRSV) - ““Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”” (Ma

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 493 | New Thing Series — Part 48 | “Nehemiah’s Focus” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s focus.  “Now when it was reported to…our enemies that I had built the wall and that there was no gap left in it…Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, “Come and let us meet together in one of the villages in the plain of Ono.” But they intended to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?” They sent to me four times in this way, and I answered them in the same manner.  In the same way Sanballat for the fifth time sent his servant to me with an op

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 492 | New Thing Series — Part 47 | “Nehemiah’s Arrow” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s ‘arrow prayer’.  “…the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This can only be sadness of the heart.” Then I was very much afraid. I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my ancestors’ graves, lies waste, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. Then I said to the king…” (Nehemiah 2:2-5 NRSV) Nehemiah has been praying for months. Now the moment has arrived. The king asks him what he wants,

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 491 | New Thing Series — Part 46 | “Nehemiah’s Lament - Part 4” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s lament. After hearing the terrible news about Judah and Jerusalem, Nehemiah responds with a prayer of lament. After praise and confession he moves on to supplication.  “Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are under the farthest skies, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place at which I have chosen to establish my name.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 490 | New Thing Series — Part 45 | “Nehemiah’s Lament - Part 3” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s lament. After hearing the terrible news about Judah and Jerusalem, Nehemiah responds with a prayer of lament.  “I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments; let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Both I and my family have sinned. We have offended you deeply,

Teaching Tip 350 | “Plain Speaking - Having a goal” | Malcolm Cox Introduction Here is your 2-minute tip based on chapter 2 of the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot.  Every meaningful activity has a goal. The nature of the goal will vary, but the goal will be clear to those involved. Bercot uses the illustrations of playing volleyball and building a house. There is no point gathering to play or build without a goal in mind. Is this applicable to speaking in church? Yes, because God’s word is ‘alive and active’ — it does things. Our hope in speaking about God is surely to be effective (Acts 14.1). No, we are not reducing preaching to a formula, but we are recognising that a lesson aimed at nothing is sure to hit it.  Let me illustrate with a personal example. At the time of recording I am preparing a lesson on Abraham. It is part of the “A New Thing” series (Isaiah 43). The topic is “A New Thing”, the character used to illustrate God doing a new thing is Ab

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 489 | New Thing Series — Part 44 | “Nehemiah’s Lament - Part 2” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s lament. After hearing the terrible news about Judah and Jerusalem, Nehemiah responds with a prayer of lament.  “When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven. I said, “O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments;” (Nehemiah 1:4-5 NRSV) Yesterday we talked about the background to lament. The Bible is soaked in it because it deals with real life, and not some airy-fairy fantasy of how things should be

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 488 | New Thing Series — Part 43 | “Nehemiah’s Lament - Part 1” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Nehemiah. Today we explore Nehemiah’s lament. “…while I was in Susa the capital, one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah; and I asked them about the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They replied, “The survivors there in the province who escaped captivity are in great trouble and shame; the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been destroyed by fire.” When I heard these words I sat down and wept, and mourned for days, fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” (Nehemiah 1:1-4 NRSV) What Nehemiah is doing is m

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 487 | New Thing Series — Part 42 | “Esther’s Generosity” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Esther. Today we explore Esther’s generosity. “That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. The king took off his signet ring, which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.” (Esther 8:1–2 NIV11) “For Mordecai the Jew was next in rank to King Ahasuerus, and he was powerful among the Jews and popular with his many kindred, for he sought the good of his people and interceded for the welfare of al

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 486 | New Thing Series — Part 41 | “Esther’s Impact” | Malcolm Cox Introduction A new thing! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to your daily devotional podcast anchored in Isaiah 43:19: 'See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.' We are currently looking at God doing a new thing in the life of Esther. Today we explore Esther’s impact. “Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced. For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honour. In every province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.” (Esther 8:15-17 NRSV) “

Introduction, Nehemiah 1.1-3 Inscribed silver bowl from the palace of Artaxerxes I (464–424 B.C.). The inscription clearly identifies this bowl as having been made in the palace of Artaxerxes I. As cupbearer to Artaxerxes (Nehemiah 1:11), Nehemiah likely would have handled articles such as this.“At the time, I was cupbearer to the king.” (Nehemiah 1:11 NRSV) The main action is crowded into the spring and summer of the year 445 BC Around 13 years since Ezra had set out for Jerusalem (Ezra 7:7). 'Survivors'/'Remnant' could also be translated, “escapees”, with allusions to the flight from Egypt that made the Hebrews into a nation. Now they have the opportunity to become a nation re-born. Summary: God was able to do a new thing because Nehemiah responded to the need revealed to him 1. Nehemiah Prays Neh 1.4ff “Nehemiah’s first response to the challenging news he received was an honest outpouring of emotion. He held nothing back. What an example for us as we face struggles and heartache in this world. W