Malcolm Cox

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