Malcolm Cox

Last Sunday we welcomed my good friend Dr Andy Boakye as a visiting speaker to the Watford church of Christ. He spoke on "The Advent of Jesus in Matthew's genealogy” from Matthew 1:2-6. Something has stayed with me since Sunday so I thought I would share it with you today. 
Andy observed that four women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus — Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and ‘the wife of Uriah’. All are questionable as to dignity. The theme of dignity restored to those who have lost it is a theme in Matthew’s Gospel. Especially when it pertains to women. 
‘Jesus affirmed the dignity of women by accepting them as disciples and treating them with a respect that was considered scandalous in his patriarchal culture.’ Four views on women in ministry 
Jesus came to restore the dignity of the disregarded and the forgotten. We see that in his treatment of any who are marginalised including by race — Matthew 15.22, the Canaanite woman. 

‘We have endured traumatic histories and the almost daily assaults on our dignity, like being tailed at the mall or when someone yells the N‑word from a car as they speed past.’ Healing from race-based trauma 
How did Jesus restore dignity to women and others who were denied it? He did not instantly miraculous Institute justice for all. That will come in the next life. Instead, he took the position of one undignified so as to empathise and sympathise with those in that state. When you are treated as if one unworthy of dignity, Jesus understands. Jesus’ birth was not ‘dignified’, nor was his death. Why did he endure such indignity? 
To grant us his dignity. 
“He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.” (1 Thessalonians 5:10 NIV11) 
He has the dignity of the beloved son, the one with whom God is pleased, and that is something we share with him because we live together with him. This is one of the reasons we pray. God granted us prayer as an indicator of the fact that he considers as worthy of dignity. Blaise Pascal said that: 
‘God has instituted prayer to impart to his creatures the dignity of causality.’ 

Some words from a song by Carolyn Arends: 
No regal robes 
He’s wrapped up in a blanket and his mama’s arms 
No royal throne 
Just hay for a cradle in a dusty barn 
Could he be the one that we think he is? 
The kingdom coming down to where we live? 
What kind of king is this? 

What Kind of King is This? https://youtu.be/XKY5SFXUj58?si=IjXVKNh-FAj39q__  

Questions for Reflection 

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 

Introduction

What has God taught you this year about preaching and teaching? Today, we're going to discuss three valuable tips for reviewing the lessons God has taught us in 2023, so that we can celebrate our growth and prepare for new lessons in 2024.

Tip 1: Personal Reflection

Whenever anyone asks for my feedback on their lesson my response is to ask them a question, “What do you think?” It’s not a test to see if they produce the ‘right’ answer. Rather, it is an opportunity for them to grow in their ability to assess their own teaching and preaching. Why is this important? Because they hear their own preaching and teaching more than any member of their congregation ever will. We can become our best sources for feedback if we train ourselves to think this way. 

How do we do this? We take time to pause and think deeply about our experiences, successes, challenges, and areas for improvement. By reflecting on our personal experiences, we can identify what has worked well and what needs adjustment. We can ask ourselves questions such as: "What teaching and preaching strategies have been effective in capturing my audience's attention?" "How well have I integrated biblical principles into my lessons?" "Have I effectively communicated the main points of my sermons?"

Specific suggestions to aid self-reflection:

Tip 2: Friendly Feedback

Our second tip focuses on the power of collaborative reflection. Collaborative reflection involves engaging in discussions and sharing ideas with fellow preachers, or teachers and your hearers. This collaborative process allows us to gain new perspectives, exchange insights, and learn from the experiences of others. By engaging in collaborative reflection, we can benefit from the collective wisdom and expertise of others. We can discuss our teaching and preaching experiences, share innovative strategies, and troubleshoot challenges together. Collaborative reflection also provides a supportive environment where we can receive constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement.

Tip 3: Take Action

Our third and final tip is to take action based on our reflections. Reflection alone is insufficient; it must be followed by action. Taking action based on our reflections allows us to grow and implement positive changes in our teaching and preaching practices. This can involve implementing new strategies, trying different teaching methods, or incorporating feedback from other people. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, personal reflection, collaborative reflection, and taking action based on our reflections and feedback from other people are the tools we need for continuous growth and improvement in our teaching and preaching practices. 

We have one more teaching tip left in 2023. Next week we will explore preaching and teaching growth for 2024. In the meantime, why not send me your reflections and actions you plan to take? Let’s share them with one another to encourage and inspire our preaching and teaching community.

Consider joining AIM UK&Ireland to develop your understanding of Scripture: https://aimukandireland.com/. Our current module is Counselling and Psychology.

Contact us here with enquiries: [email protected]  

The website can be found here: https://aimukandireland.com  

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, or 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/). 

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

Remember to keep calm, and carry on teaching.

God bless, Malcolm

The nativity is close at hand. Our tree is up, decorations festoon the house, most of the Christmas presents have been purchased and carols are playing in the background. “Joy to the world” is one of those songs. It combines the themes of hope and joy. Let’s meditate on the connection between help and joy by reading the traditional lyrics:

1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n and nature sing,
and heav'n, and heav'n and nature sing.

2. Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns! 
Let men their songs employ,
while fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat the sounding joy,
repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
far as the curse is found,
far as the curse is found,
far as, far as the curse is found.

4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
and makes the nations prove
the glories of His righteousness
and wonders of His love,
and wonders of His love,
and wonders, and wonders of His love

When Jesus came everything changed. Yet, in another way, nothing changed. The world and its people are still damaged by the greed, lust and pride of untransformed people. Even God’s people continue to struggle with sin, suffering and unanswered prayers. So, why are we a people of joy? How can joy breathe in the airless atmosphere of ongoing wars, desperate poverty and heinous injustice?

Joy is ours, joy is meaningful, joy is realistic because we now have hope. What kind of hope? As a friend of mine said on Sunday (thanks for the inspiration, TJ), “Where you place your hope is imperative to your experience of joy.” Where is your hope located?

We are the people who have “set our hope on Christ” (Ephesians 1:12), because we used to be those  with “no hope and without God” (Ephesians 2:12). Now we experience the mystery of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27). Like the apostle Paul we know that despite the troubles of this life, we have “Christ Jesus our hope.” (1 Timothy 1:1). 

When our hope is in Christ, and not in anything else — no matter how noble — our joy will be in him, and that joy will be unquenchable because will be ultimately victorious. Nothing can stop his final triumph. Therefore, though trials are still with us, we are a people of joy.  A people of joy proclaiming, at this Christmas-tide, joy to the world!

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

Reflect, Renew, and Rejoice: A Spiritual Review of the Last 12 Months for Christians and Christian Groups

Introduction

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24 NRSV)

As the year draws to a close, it's the perfect time for us to conduct a spiritual review of the past 12 months. Reflecting on our personal and congregational spiritual journey can deepen our relationship with God, provide valuable insights, and help us discern to will of the Spirit for the future. In this class, we'll explore two ideas for conducting a spiritual review that will help you and your local group to grow in Christ.

Before we dig in to those three areas, we might take a moment to consider if this kind of reflection has Scriptural warrant. I believe it does. For example, Paul’s letters are tools of the Spirit to help the congregations he writes to reflect on their spirituality, what God has been teaching them, and their direction for the future. We see the same in the sermons to the churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. 

As an example, take this passage in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5

“But we appeal to you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who labour among you, and have charge of you in the Lord and admonish you; esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-22 NRSV)

We will not go into all the issues here, but we can see Paul asking the Thessalonians to reflect on their attitude to leaders and the weak, on their response when people harm them and their gratitude to God. It is with this perspective in mind that we will go on to examine two specific areas for review.

1. Embrace Gratitude: Counting Blessings and Lessons

Gratitude is a powerful spiritual practice that can transform our outlook on life. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, we are reminded to give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for us in Christ Jesus — “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

(1 Thessalonians 5:18 NRSV)

Consider David in the Psalms, where he expressed his gratitude for God's blessings even in the midst of challenges — “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:2-5 NRSV)

Take time to discuss and write down all the ways you have seen God’s hand at work over the last 12 months. Do this for your personal life and for your group. Spend some time in prayer thanking God for all he has done, his support, and his loving presence through all the ups and downs. 

Some examples relevant to me include the gift of a granddaughter, the arrival of TJ and Sonia Masilamani in Thames Valley and a young man called Nana getting baptised into Christ in the Watford church.

2. Honest Self-Reflection: Acknowledge Failures and Seek Forgiveness

Honest self-reflection is a crucial aspect of any spiritual review. In Psalm 139:23-24, David prays, "Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." 

One way to conduct an evaluation for yourself and your group is to discuss three crucial areas of the Christian life: Faith, hope and love. These key qualities are mentioned many times in the New Testament, and all three show up together in the passages below:

“And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

“…remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

“But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.”
(1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; 5:8 NRSV)

You could discuss the following questions:

Conclusion

We will talk about the future more next time, but after embracing gratitude and some honest self-reflection, we will be in a good place to set some spiritual areas of focus. Consider Paul’s heart. He had a consistent spiritual-growth-spirit. In Philippians 3:13-14, he writes, “Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.”

His desire was greater and greater Christlikeness as the years went by. Again, we will explore this further in the following class, but for now, why not pray about what God is revealing for you and your local group?

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/). 

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 

Today we reflect on the series. I hope you are not overwhelmed by all the material. The idea is not to become instantly perfect in all areas, but rather to ask God to reveal which area he would wish you to develop. Has something stood out? Let me list the main topics we have covered.

In re-reading the book for the AIM homiletics module and this series, the area that God has pointed me to is a combination of the “Big Idea” and the “Arrow and the target”. I am seeing the value in simplifying more of my messages to ensure they have one main idea and a clear target. The result has been tighter, shorter lessons (on the whole).

What is your main takeaway? 

We have two more teaching tips left in 2023. Next week we will reflect on teaching and preaching lessons from the year, and the week after explore preaching and teaching growth for 2024. 

Consider joining AIM UK&Ireland to develop your understanding of Scripture: https://aimukandireland.com/. Our current module is Homiletics (the preparation and delivery of lessons).

Contact us here with enquiries: [email protected]  

The website can be found here: https://aimukandireland.com  

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, or 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/). 

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

Remember to keep calm, and carry on teaching.

God bless, Malcolm

Should we pray with an agenda?

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”(Matthew 6:5-8 NIV11)

Introduction

Is it acceptable to pray with an ‘agenda’? I ask because of something I experienced not too long ago. I was part of a prayer gathering online. The event had an agenda — a healthy one. We were praying for unity. I am glad I was there, and grateful to the person who planned the meeting. However, two incidents bothered me, and I have been trying to work out how important they are. Hence this article. I would value your take on the matter. Let me explain.

Teaching Prayer

One person’s prayer was a lesson disguised as a prayer. I do not imply it was insincere, or unspiritual, just that it did not seem to fit within the ethos of the gathering. We had come together, in my understanding, to implore God to help us with something we were finding challenging. As such, my thought was to entreat God for his assistance. But this person prayed for us to heed Scripture, obey it and take it to heart. There is nothing wrong with those sentiments, of course, but it did not seem that person was talking to God. He was talking to the rest of us on God’s behalf. That’s teaching, not praying. Am I being fair?

Preaching Prayer

A second person praying affirmed the significance of unity by praying for it to be healed. However, he added a warning. The warning was that despite our challenges with unity, it was, he prayed, important that we not get distracted from evangelism. The implication was that this was a higher priority than unity. Although not the point of this article, I would suggest that dealing with broken unity is the one thing that might be a legitimate ‘distraction’ from evangelism, given that Jesus made it clear our love-unity was essential to our evangelistic effectiveness (John 13.34-35; John 17.23). In any case, the prayer came across as a ‘preach’, not a prayer. Again, am I being fair?

Agenda Prayer

The early church prayed ‘agenda’ prayers. In response to the early persecution they asked God to “…consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”(Acts 4:29 NIV11) It seems reasonable to infer the church prayed for the release of Peter, “So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” (Acts 12:5 NIV11) In one of his written prayers for the Thessalonians Paul asks that God will, “sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV11)

All of these prayers had an ’agenda’. Perhaps a better way of looking at it is that they had a focus based on current experiences. Paul encouraged the Philippians to be honest and specific in their prayers, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NIV11)

So, why was I uncomfortable in that prayer meeting? 

Trauma Prayer 

I can think of three reasons. 

First, I spent many years in a church culture where every method of communication was a channel for the convictions of the leadership (local, or distant). Preaching, teaching, newsletters, books, videos, conversations, phone calls, discipling times, discipleship groups, leadership meetings and retreats, talks other people were ‘told’ to have with me - and even prayer was used to reinforce the official church agenda (usually something along the lines of have more faith, evangelise more and work harder). Has this had a negative impact on the way I hear other people pray?

Second, I think I felt patronised. Why does that person assume I and the others praying need reminding of Scriptures and our responsibility to obey them? It comes across as if they think they are more spiritual than me and everyone else. Indeed, the reminder of the significance of evangelism is similar. I get the sense the rest of us are not trusted to hold on to such convictions. Am I being proud here? A pure-hearted person might not have the same reaction. Is it not helpful to be reminded of basic beliefs? On the other hand, have we gathered to cement convictions, or beg for God’s help?

Third, I am not sure God is the focus. If God is fundamentally relational then we are gathering to pray to a ‘someone’ who is present. How would I feel if I met with a group of people who said they wanted to talk to me, but then proceeded to talk to one another about me, and about what they think I think? God was in the room and some of us were not talking to him. What does that say about our understanding of his immanence, attentiveness and readiness? In the Matthew 6 passage quoted about Jesus tells us to, ’pray to your Father‘. Might unity be not only better mended, but also better experienced if we *all* prayed *to* our Father? 

Conclusion

I would not wish to imply that my prayer on the day was perfect. I dare say others in attendance could legitimately pick holes in it. But, as I reflect on Jesus’ words in Matthew (and Luke 18), I am worried that a prayer to be ‘heard’ is in danger of being a hypocritical prayer. How do we pray meaningfully for a real issue without reverting to preaching or teaching? The answer to that is doubtless out there. I have written this article to articulate my thinking and express some of my fears, and in hope that you, my reader, will have some useful insight for us all.

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

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/). 

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

Today we look at the eleventh chapter — ‘A Final Word’. Why are we preaching? Where is the power in preaching? Who are we to believe we can speak for God? As Robinson says in his book, “No one in his right mind who thought about it would ever choose to be a preacher. It's a commitment to the impossible." 168

Let’s reflect on this Scripture for a moment…..

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11 NIV11)

Over 40 years ago I read this section of Isaiah. It spoke to me then, it speaks to me still. I trust it to be true. While not about preaching per se, it does convey the right sentiment about the efficacy of God’s Word.

In the final chapter of his book, Haddon Robinson emphasises the significance of trusting the power of God working through his Word over and above our own insight, skill and experience.  What does our confidence rest on?

Where is the power?
“I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Corinthians 2:3–5 NIV11)

Paul is not saying he was incapable of being wise and persuasive — it is clear from the book of Acts that he was — but that he did not depend on such skills. He relied on the Spirit’s power. Many take this to mean the miraculous gifts (charismata) that authenticated his message. It may be there were occasions that this was the case, but I have come to suspect that he meant something else. A more plausible interpretation is that he meant that his listeners had a clear sense of the God-ness of his preaching. In other words, his hearers said to themselves, “The power and wisdom of this message are not human. We are witnessing a divine event. What we are hearing is beyond even the most wise and persuasive speaker - even Paul.”

That is reassuring. Why? Because whatever your stance on whether or not 1st century charismata are available today, the effectiveness of your preaching is not dependent on them. Neither is your skill level, the extent of your speaking experience, or the wisdom you have accumulated. The power of God working through his word is the same today as at any time in human history. That power is moving in our time in all parts of the world where the word is preached. Faith comes from hearing the Word, and when you preach the Word the best you can, faith grows.

What can we say?
1. We speak what we believe. Whether we say it well or not, we must speak about what we believe. “In preaching, the preacher is bearing witness to the truth he or she proclaims and staking his or her life on it. “A sermon is an exposition of the apostolic Word in the form of testimony.”  Liturgical Theology, Simon Chan. Give the sermon your best, that is all that you can do.
2. We both satisfy hunger and create hunger.  Do not place a burden on yourself that God does not. You do not have the answer every question, but part of your responsibility is to create curiosity in your hearers so that they will go and research and study for themselves.
3. We trust that God is at work. “Christ has a secret passage way into peoples lives that you and I know little about. Give your sermon to him." 169

Conclusion
Some preachers have limited skills, and others are supremely gifted. However, as Robinson says, “…in the final analysis there are no great preachers. There's only a great Christ who does startling things when we place ourselves and our preaching in his hands." 169

Next week we wrap up the series by conducting a review of the previous episodes. Join me for that concluding recording.

Consider joining AIM UK&Ireland to develop your understanding of Scripture: https://aimukandireland.com/. Our current module is Homiletics (the preparation and delivery of lessons).

Contact us here with enquiries: [email protected]  

The website can be found here: https://aimukandireland.com  

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, or 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/). 

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

Remember to keep calm, and carry on teaching.

God bless, Malcolm

One of the characteristics of a refugee is that they carry very little with them. Everything in their luggage or backpack must be vital. There is no place for the unnecessary or superfluous. Many refugees carry all their possessions on their backs, or push them in a cart. They make difficult choices about what to take with them, and what to leave behind. For most refugees they are carrying a tiny proportion of their worldly belongings. There are parallels here with the people of Israel and followers of Jesus. Let's consider this passage in 1 Corinthians chapter 5.

“Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:6-8 NRSV)

No Yeast 

When the Israelites left Egypt they were not carrying yeast. From that time on at the annual festival of Passover inspections were made of homes and possessions to ensure that no yeast remained. 

“For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel.”
(Exodus 12:15 NIV11; Also, Exodus 13:7)

The yeast removal was a reminder of the escape from Egypt. It brought back the refugee experience. Refugees don't carry yeast. Why not? Because they don't stay in any place long enough for bread to rise.

New People

The people of God are a new people created by God. They are not holding on to the (yeast of the) past. We are the unleavened people.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV11)

New Passover

Christ is our Passover. As the Tyndale commentary puts it,

'Christ is for believers what the passover was for the Jews. In Egypt they had offered their sacrifice in order that the destroying angel might pass over them. They had been delivered, and a slave rabble emerged as the people of God. Paul is using this imagery to remind his readers that the death of Christ had delivered them from slavery to evil and made them the people of God.' 

Christ has been sacrificed and therefore we celebrate the festival. The festival of the new life. A life of freedom instead of slavery. Not a life infected by the old yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of pure motives and actions. 

Questions for reflection

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

Today we look at the tenth chapter ‘How to Preach so People will Listen’.

A sermon is not a text or an outline, it is thing that only lives as it is spoken. The speaking of it is what makes it real. Therefore the way we deliver it is important. The oft-quoted adage that only 7 percent of a message comes through the words is, I understand, a debatable claim. But, what cannot be denied is that the way we speak a sermon has a significant influence on the way it is received. Below I lay out the structure of the chapter in Haden Robinson's book. I will not go through it in detail – better that you buy the book! What I will do today is share some observations based on my experience. 

The outline in Haddon Robinson’s book

First, some examples from Jesus.

Jesus

Presence: Walk confidently

First video feedback: Consider drama training

Posture: No extremes

Conclusion
What have I missed? Can you think of other examples in the Old and New Testaments of the way people speaking having an impact? 

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Remember to keep calm, and carry on teaching.

God bless, Malcolm