Malcolm Cox

Are you ready for 2019? I spent some time on New Year's Eve reflecting on my birthplace, and my relationship with my heavenly Father - "Dadda".

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: [email protected].

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.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up on coach.me. 

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

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Have you been feeling the Dec/Jan pressure like me?

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6)

I developed the following arrow prayer to help me get through this busy period:

"Busy, not hurried; busy, not worried."

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: [email protected].

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.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up here.

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

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As worship leaders our goal is good communication.  This communication has many layers. Ours with God; ours with the worship team; the worship team and the congregation; the worship team and the rest of the congregation with God … and so on.

For this to be effective and healthy, simplicity is crucial.  In search of creativity and variety it is tempting to make services overly complex. At least, it is to me!  Our worship services should be as simple as they can be but no more. What does this mean for us as worship leaders?

1\. Know your limits as a singer, guitarist, keyboard player etc.

2\. Play simpler chords, play or sing simpler lines if it helps you to communicate better.

3\. Look up from your music or lyrics. Take a risk, connect with the team and the congregation - and God!

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: [email protected].

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

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up here.

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer,

How do we stay spiritually focused when distractions are dominant? I bring you a slice of my own experience from a recent prayer walk through my neighbourhood.

If Paul and Silas managed to stay connected to God whilst in prison (Acts 16:25), and Daniel found the discipline to pray despite his life being in danger (Daniel 6:10), it must be possible to remain close to God no matter what else is going on.

I would be grateful for your feedback and experiences. 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: [email protected].

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.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up here.

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

Music in this episode courtesy of: Life in Romance by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org/

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer,

Sometimes it's hard to switch off the noise in your head. I've had a challenging week with this, and found the following resource to be a tremendous help.

Here's the [link](https://www.engageworship.org/pausepray) to the podcasts I mention in the recording. 

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: [email protected]

If you’d like a copy of my free eBook on spiritual disciplines, “How God grows His people”, sign up at my website: www.malcolmcox.org.

Please pass the link on, subscribe, leave a review.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up [here](https://www.coach.me/mccx).

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John.

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer,

"Our job as mothers and fathers, artists and writers, pastors and teachers and worship leaders is to help others see reality—to behold the beauty of God. We’re tour guides. We drive people out to the Grand Canyon of God and stare breathless over the abyss and say Will you look at that? And our wonder inspires their wonder."  Brian Morykon

* How to have an impact with what we are saying?

* Starts with what we are seeing. 

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psa. 119:18 NIV11)

* Wonder inspires wonder.

* Start be being ‘wondered’

* Then can lead others to that wonder. 

Wouldn’t you like to be a wonderful speaker? So would your listeners!

Thank you for listening to this recording. You can find more teaching tips here and on the on the YouTube teaching tips playlist. 

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: [email protected].

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. 

Thanks again for listening. Have a terrific Tuesday, and a wonderful week.

God bless,

Malcolm 

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, Renovare, Psalms

Malcolm read a story for the children (and, perhaps, for the adults) about the innkeeper and his part in the Christmas story. 

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: [email protected].

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.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up here. 

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer,

Our theme verse for 2019 for the Watford church of Christ and the Thames Valley churches of Christ is: “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22 NIV11)

I fell to thinking what relevance this had to at times of corporate worship, and the significance of this theme for our worship teams. A couple of verses later on in the book of Ephesians came to mind:

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18–20 NIV11)

I shared these thoughts with the worship teams of the Watford and Thames Valley churches in a short devotional before we lead the worship.

When we lead worship, we are helping to build the body of Christ together. This happens not because we are singing the same words, or the same music, but because we are all singing from the heart to the Lord. A worship leader’s responsibility is to help the worship team and the worship team together with the congregation to sing from our collective hearts to the Lord.

Have you shared any devotional thoughts with your worship teams recently? I would love to see what has been helpful in your situation.

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: [email protected].

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

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up here. 

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, devotional, Epistle to the Ephesians,

Recently I preached a [Sermon](https://youtu.be/YMs6kE3v6xM) based on Luke 4.19-30 and the visit of Jesus to the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth (synagogue [video](https://youtu.be/ZE4zfXLk57k)).

“All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” (Luke 4:28–30 NIV11)

Where did his bravery come from?  In Luke chapters 3 and 4 I can see four sources of his bravery.  If we can understand them, they can help us with our growth in spiritual courage. The first one is God’s approval, the second is God’s refining,  the third is God’s Word and the fourth is:

**God’s calling, or mission**

“At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” (Luke 4:42–44 NIV11)

Jesus knew that God believed in him to be effective in the calling he had been given. When we have something to live for that is bigger than us, and when someone we trust believes in us, it makes a huge difference to our bravery.

God has something important for you to do. That can make you more courageous - not because of your own competency, but because of the Spirit of Christ living in you. What will help convince you of this reality? How would being convinced of it increase your spiritual courage?

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: [email protected].

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.

God bless, Malcolm

PS: If you would like some coaching in spiritual disciplines, look me up here.

PPS: You might also be interested in my book: "An elephant's swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, Mission, Gospel of Luke, courage, bravery, purpose

Who inspires your thinking about teaching and preaching? Someone who challenges your thinking in a way that raises your vision. I share some lessons from today’s visit to see an old friend of mine, Laurence Roman, who left me wanting to hear more of Radio 3 instead of Classic FM.

Thank you for listening to this recording. You can find more teaching tips here and on the on the YouTube teaching tips playlist. 

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: [email protected].

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. 

Thanks again for listening. Have a terrific Tuesday, and a wonderful week.

God bless,

Malcolm 

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, Laurence Roman, Douglas Jacoby