Malcolm Cox

Do you use silence as part of your corporate worship? Deliberate, creative silence. Not the accidental kind. 

We take a look at this, prompted by some words of Soren Kierkegaard in the book, "Participating in worship" by Craig Erickson

Please leave a comment. Pass this on to someone. Subscribe to the feed.

God bless, Malcolm

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)  

Psalms, worship, corporate worship, mccx, praise, CWM, preparation, feedback, tvcoc, Thames Valley churches of Christ, music, Malcolm Cox, malcolmcox.org, Watford, Watford church of Christ, singing, God, Psalms, silence, Soren Kierkegaard

“As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?” (Psalms 42:1–2 NRSV)

Something different this week. I offer a three-minute prayer meditation on Psalm 42 verses 1-2.

**Instructions**

* Find a quiet place

* Settle in a comfortable position

* Take a deep breath.....hold.....exhale

* Relax and listen to the audio or watch the video

Readings of the two verses will be interspersed with the sounds of the River Gade.

What does God reveal? Let me know how it goes.

Please leave a comment here so that we can all learn from one another. We learn best when we learn in community.

Would you like some coaching in the spiritual disciplines? You can find me on [coach.me](www.coach.me).

I hope you have a wonderful week of fulfilling quiet times.

God bless, Malcolm

We look at the usefulness of slides for our teaching. 

Even though 'death by PowerPoint' is a thing, that does not mean that slides are not helpful. 

We talk about the way they can help us to clarify our structure, and how they can help an audience relax and listen.  

Thank you for watching 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 watching. Have a terrific Tuesday, and a wonderful week.

God bless,

Malcolm

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“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall never be shaken.” (Psalms 62:1–2 NRSV)

I spoke on what Psalm 62 has to teach us about what to do with the chaos in our lives. We looked at how Jesus has the rest, salvation and hope we need because of the power of his resurrection and the evidence of his love shown us on the cross.

If you have any questions about quiet times in general or about the class material in particular, please drop me a line.

I hope you find this a blessing.

God bless, Malcolm 

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community. 

Thanks again for watching. Have a super day.

God,tvcoc,Jesus,discipleship,love,faith,trust,disciples,joy,spiritual growth,Gospel of Matthew,Gospel of Luke,Gospel of John,spiritual disciplines,devotions,devotionals,Epistle to the Galations,Epistle to the Romans,First Epistle to the Corinthia,1 Timothy

"For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” (Psalms 62:1 NRSV)

Friday nights in the month of August are devoted to enriching our personal devotional times with God - sometimes called, ‘quiet times’.

Please send me any questions you have about ‘quiet times’, and pray through Psalm 62 as preparation for the course.

Your brother, Malcolm

www.tvcoc.org

We're mistaken if we think we can lead a group without paying attention to presence

Some have it more naturally

Others can learn it

1\. Look at the group - take risks - look up.

2\. Smile

3\. Stand tall

4\. Move slowly

Remember your goal is to be what they need, not what you feel is comfortable.

**Question**

What have you tried to help you grow in presence?

Please leave a comment and pass the link on.

God bless, Malcolm

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” Ps 100:2

In last week's episode (number 46) we looked at more reasons why we need a specific place for study. Please let me know how you've been getting on with your own study. 

This week, let's talk about what to do when you are stuck in your relationship with God. We've all been there. I have many times. I will be again, and so will you. What is it that will get us out of our rut? 

**Neither shallow, nor introspective.**

We cannot stay shallow. Equally, we dare not become introspective. Perhaps a change of perspective will help. We're not really trying to go deeper into ourselves, right? We're attempting to go deeper into God. As Richard Foster puts it,

"I do not mean to turn inward by becoming ever more introspective, nor do I mean to turn inward in hopes of finding within ourselves some special inner strength or an inner saviour who will deliver us. Vain search! No, it is not a journey into ourselves that we are undertaking but a journey through ourselves so that we can emerge from the deepest level of the self into God.”*

Yes, that's right. We emerge into God. In other words, we take action and discover that the faith involved in that action brings the reward of a renewed connection with God. It's so important to remember that a relationship with God is not, in its essence, a concept or a feeling. It is something built by our faithful actions. 

**Confidence comes from action**

Confidence with God grows as we take action. It has always been thus in the Christian life. 

* Jesus said, “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17 NIV11)

* The faithful of Hebrews 11 are commended for taking action, “By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.” (Hebrews 11:7 NIV11)

* Abraham is held up as the example of faithful action, “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.” (James 2:22 NIV11)

If you want to grow in depth and intimacy with God - take action. Pray. Often. Read. Often.

**Experiment with the 'examen'**

One action you could take is what's called the 'examen'. Psalm 139 sums it up:

"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23–24) 

The prayer of 'examen' consciously invites God to reveal truth in us. The revelation of truth is a startling stimulus to growth. We do not know what we will discover. As a result, we need to deal with the fear of what is turned up. Foster inserts this prayer at the end of his chapter on the topic: 

“Precious Saviour, why do I fear your scrutiny? Yours is an examen of love. Still, I am afraid… Afraid of what may surface. Even so, I invite you to search me to the depths so that I may know myself - and you - in full measure. Amen"* 

Why not pray this prayer, and then practice one of these four suggested methods for going deeper with God?

* Meditate on scripture - such as Psalm 62

* Pray the 'Lord's prayer', Luke 11.2-4

* Pray through the 'Ten Commandments', Exodus 20.1-17

* Pray through and/or meditate on one or more of the 'Beatitudes', Matthew 5.3-12

**Conclusion**

Try one of these suggestions for a period of time and note what you learn. What does God reveal? Let me know how it goes.

**Question**

What happened when you took action on one of these ideas? Were some easier than others? Why might that be?

Please leave a comment here so that we can all learn from one another. We learn best when we learn in community.

Would you like some coaching in the spiritual disciplines? You can find me by clicking [here](https://www.coach.me/mccx).

I hope you have a wonderful week of fulfilling quiet times.

God bless, Malcolm  

*["Prayer: Finding the heart's true home", Foster, Richard](http://amzn.eu/7hnwoo2)

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"Every single person who sits politely and listens to you on Sunday is one decision away from moral, financial, and marital ruin.” ['Communicating for a change'](http://amzn.eu/dtdWCKw) p88

Does this topic really matter? Does it matter to me?

**Tips**

1\. Pray over it - the point, not just the passage

2\. Apply it to yourself - how will this benefit your life?

* What prevent?

* What enable?

3\. Apply it to people you know will be there

* Imagine what their lives like if do not apply it

* Imagine what their lives like if do apply it

* “30 minutes to raise the dead in."

Thank you for listening to this recording. You can find more teaching tips here and on the on the YouTube teaching tips [playlist](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLssKYNRlLIE_A3ckUf7NrtJEqNVbft98J).

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]](mailto:[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/](http://www.malcolmcox.org/).

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

God bless,

Malcolm

A report on singing a song at a slower speed, and a devotional idea for your worship team.

“I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise.  I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your unfailing love and your faithfulness, for you have so exalted your solemn decree that it surpasses your fame. When I called, you answered me; you greatly emboldened me. May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD, when they hear what you have decreed. May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great.” (Psalms 138:0–5 NIV11)

"emboldened" - rahav - to act stormily, arrogantly, might

**Question**

What helps you to be bold in leading people in public corporate worship?

Please leave a comment and pass the link on.

God bless, Malcolm

“Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.” (Psalms 100:2 NIV11)

In last week's episode (number 45) we looked at why we need a specific place for study. "Thank you" to Johann who found the episode helpful and posted his response on the [YouTube](https://youtu.be/-bei3jwXhOc) channel. 

This week, rather than start a new topic I'd like to give a personal report on my progress and offer some more ideas.

I have had a good week of study. Digging into Acts chapters 7 and 8 has been enlightening and inspiring. The commitments I made last week made a difference. Let's do a quick check on each one.

Last week's commitments:

* Phone out of sight: I kept to this commitment by leaving the phone in my pocket, or putting it on to charge behind me.

* Noise-cancelling headphones: Using them helped to narrow my focus.

* Clear the desk: Removing everything not connected with my Bible study kept visual distractions low. 

My focus improved and I had a much better week of study. However, I learned of some more areas of distraction which I had not noticed before. Eliminating some issues revealed others. Here are this week's observations and new commitments:

* Headphones: Pairing them via Bluetooth didn't always work well. Sometimes it took two minutes which was frustrating. I also had some instances of skipping which were distracting. This week I will attach them via a cable if it takes longer than a few seconds to pair them or if more skipping occurs.

* Door: Even with the headphones on I still noticed sounds in the house. This week I will close the door to the room in which I do my study.

* Reflections: The computer screen faces some windows. This produces reflections when people walk past on the street. I found myself distracted when I noticed neighbours passing my house. This week I will close the curtains behind me while I do my study.

* Software: On one occasion this last week I thought it wouldn't do any harm to run a program called "Clean my Mac" while I was doing my Bible study. How wrong I was! Even though it is silent, and does not affect the computer's performance, just knowing it was open and running distracted my mind from time to time. This week I will close any software unnecessary to my study.

**Conclusion**

I'm looking for 'flow'. A state in which my mind is fully engaged in what I am doing. That's how I see my study being of the most benefit. You might like this [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow) talk on the concept of flow. And here is a [link](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flow-Psychology-Happiness-Mihaly-Csikszentmihalyi-ebook/dp/B00GO8HZIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532600481&sr=8-1&keywords=flow) to the classic text.

**Question**

Have you put any of these ideas into practice? Do you have some you would like to share? What helps you to get into a state of 'flow' when you study?

Please leave a comment here so that we can all learn from one another. We learn best when we learn in community.

I hope you have a wonderful week of fulfilling quiet times.

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](https://dqzrr9k4bjpzk.cloudfront.net/images/9167082/379662794.jpg) swimming pool", a devotional look at the Gospel of John