Malcolm Cox

Inspiration from Biblical 'lockdown' people

Oct/Nov 2020 Teaching Series

Class 1 : Paul in Lockdown - Acts 28:16-31

Introduction

1. Hospitality

2. Love your housemates

3. Spreading the word

4. Communication Expanded

5. Prayer

6. His perspective

Conclusion

Key scripture:

“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.” (Philippians 1:12–14 NIV11)

Next week: next class in series - Patels, Abuchis, Olivers, Packhams

I am in my third year of participating in the Renovare book club. The first book in this season’s set of four is “How to pray” by Pete Greig.

Quiet time coaching episodes will focus on his book for the next few weeks. You don’t need to read it to benefit from these recordings, but you might like to get hold of a copy for yourself. I’m three quarters of my way through the book and can thoroughly recommend it. A full review of the book will come at a later date in “What we are reading”.Today we will reflect on the second chapter of the book, “Keeping it simple”

“The best bit of advice I ever received about how to pray was this: keep it simple, keep it real, keep it up. You’ve got to keep it simple so that the most natural thing in the world doesn’t become complicated, weird and intense. You’ve got to keep it real because when life hurts like hell you’re going to be tempted to pretend you’re fine. And then at other times, when you make a mess of things, you’re going to be tempted to hide from God (which never really works) and end up hiding from yourself (which works quite well). And you’ve got to keep it up because life is tough, the battle is fierce, and God is not an algorithm. The journey of faith demands a certain bloody-mindedness of us all, not least in the realm of prayer.” Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 27). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

“God wants to spend time with us even more than we want to spend time with him.” Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 28). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

“He then goes on to give the Lord’s Prayer, which was just thirty-one words long in its original language, and also originally rhymed. Jesus wrote us a poem! Having advocated simplicity in prayer, he modelled it with a short, rhyming prototype that takes thirty seconds to recite in English and fits in a single tweet. As Archbishop Justin Welby says, the Lord’s Prayer is ‘simple enough to be memorised by small children, and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer’.” Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 29). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

Prayer, in its essence, is conversation. One blending reverence with familiarity.

“The author Anne Lamott wrote a refreshingly irreverent book about prayer with a title I’ve always liked: Help, Thanks, Wow. These three words, she argues, are the only prayers we will ever need.” Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 30). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

“What seem our worst prayers may really be, in God’s eyes, our best. Those which are least supported by devotional feeling … these may come from a deeper level than feeling. God sometimes seems to speak to us most intimately when he catches us, as it were, off our guard.” (C.S. Lewis) Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 32). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

God has never been surprised by anything anyone has said to him. His desire to hear your voice is greater than his desire that you say the ‘right’ things.

Frank Laubach…compared praying to throwing rocks in a swamp. Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 33). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

“But here is the great and inescapable truth, taught in Scripture, modelled by Christ and advocated without exception by all the heroes of our faith: you cannot grow in prayer without some measure of effort and discomfort, self-discipline and self-denial. Just as you cannot get physically fit without regular exercise and a healthy diet, so your spiritual growth will be determined, to a very significant extent, by the prayer exercises you choose (or do not choose) to establish and sustain.” Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 33). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition. 

Delight without discipline eventually, inevitably dissipates. It runs out of steam. But when delight and discipline learn to dance, relationships thrive. Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 34). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

“A Christian who prays only when they feel like it may survive but they will never thrive. Their vast, innate potential will be stunted because grace needs a little space to take root between the cracks of a person’s life.” Greig, Pete. How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People (p. 35). John Murray Press. Kindle Edition.

In prayer, quantity is often more important than quality.

Questions for discussion:

Suggestion: Pray with honesty and consistency.

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.

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: You might also be interested in my book: “An elephant’s swimming pool”, a devotional look at the Gospel of John

This week I bring you some thoughts from the wonderful book, "Fearfully and Wonderfully" by Dr Paul Brand and Philip Yancey. 

Dr Brand was a pioneering surgeon working with leprosy patients. He draws many parallels between his work and the nature of the body of Christ, the church. The book is a mixture of thoughtful reflections on these parallels, and stories from his work - especially in India. 

I'll not comment much more in this blog, but save the more detailed sharing for the video/podcast. However, I will say this. The personal sacrificial involved in serving the lowest of the low is in itself tremendously inspiring. When that is combined with reflecting on the life of Jesus and his desire for the healing of all people (and things), it brought a lump to my throat several times over.

Married to a doctor as I am, the medical language found a ready home, but you do not need to be medically literate to understand Dr Brand's descriptions. You might, however, need a strong stomach.

Why does this book matter? It matters because it takes a compassionate sledgehammer to the all-too-desirable lie that Christianity is about feelings, ideas, philosophy, theories and strategies. When Dr Brand touches the untouchables knowing he is at risk of contracting leprosy himself, we are reminded that faith is not safe.  When he labours to heal, we are reminded of the heart of Jesus. When the impact of his loving actions are recognised by others we are reminded that the light of the gospel spreads.

Speaking of Jesus, Dr Brand writes, "[He] only affected a small area of the world… In his lifetime he had no impact on the Celts or the Chinese or the Aztecs. Rather, he set in motion a mission which was to spread throughout the world, responding to human needs everywhere." p16

Perhaps one of the most surprising themes of the book is the value of pain. He writes, "Pain, so often viewed as an enemy, is actually the sensation most dedicated to keep it as healthy. If I had the power to choose one gift for my leprosy patients, I would choose the gift of pain."  p191

In a world enamored of the aspiration to eliminate pain, this is a helpful and healthy corrective.

"Why did Christ keep his scars? He could have had a perfect body, or no body, when he returned to splendour in heaven. Instead he kept a remembrance of his visit to us, and for a keepsake of his time here, he chose scars. The pain of humanity became the pain of God." p262

The final paragraph of the book sums up its central theme:

"After World War II German students volunteered to help rebuild a cathedral in England, one of many casualties of the Luftwaffe bombings. As the work progressed, debate broke out on how best to restore a large statue of Jesus with his arms outstretched and bearing the familiar inscription, 'Come unto me'. Careful patching could repair all damage to the statute except for Christ's hands, which had been destroyed by bomb fragments. Should they attempt the delicate task of reshaping those hands? The workers reached a decision that still stands today. The statue of Jesus has no hands, and the inscription now reads, 'Christ has no hands but ours'. p267

I thoroughly recommend this book for anybody looking for fresh and unique inspiration to live the lifestyle of Jesus Christ.

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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

PS: You might also be interested in my book: ["An elephant's swimming pool"](https://dqzrr9k4bjpzk.cloudfront.net/images/9167082/379662794.jpg), a devotional look at the Gospel of John

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““And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 11:16 NAS95)

- Responsibility to teach in a way to help people remember

- Jesus effective at this

- Reading on this topic - how to learn and help others learn

- "Make it Stick"

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- Jesus: “John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’” (Matthew 21:25 NIV11)

- For example, you could set the group this puzzle:

    - Consider these two verses in Philippians

        - “Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may be glad and I may have less anxiety.” (Philippians 2:28 NIV11)

        - “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)

        - In the first verse Paul confesses his anxiety. In the second verse he commands his readers not to be anxious. How can we reconcile the two - if we can?

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- Jesus: ““What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied.” (Matthew 22:42 NIV11)

- If you were speaking on Luke 7.11-17, you might read,

    - “Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”” (Luke 7:14 NIV11)

    - Then ask, "Why do you think Jesus touched the bier?"

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- In this on-line church era the use of breakout rooms is helpful

- Respect the intelligence of your audience

- Remember the value of people learning from each other.

- Reflect that you are not the one with ultimate understanding.

- Next week I will be answering a question from a subscriber about hermeneutics and history

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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.

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

Music: Purpose by Jonny Easton

https://youtube.com/channel/UCHJVYelCXpsV8P4EVWBgj0A

Creative Commons Attribution license

Free Download / Stream: http://bit.ly/al-purpose

Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/TT2PftKt1P4

The topic of listening has been on my mind recently. Penny and I were away for two weeks to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. Much more time than usual in each other's company. More talking, and more listening. We walked in mountains, around lakes and quaint old towns. Each place brought unique sounds to our listening ears. The change of soundscape was refreshing. But it was only refreshing because we were actually listening.

My quiet time coaching episode this week focuses on the issue of listening. Isn't the difference huge between merely hearing some sounds and actually listening to what is being communicated? Similarly, there is a difference between teaching and educating. Or preaching and inspiring. The one should hopefully bring the other, but it does not necessarily do so. Intentionality is the key.

Just because I pray, even if I am silent, it doesn't mean I will hear God's voice. It's something I want to learn more about. The issue carries with it some fears and some confusion. But I believe it's one of the key areas of spiritual development for me. What about you?

The comfort I have in this area is the Jesus not only expected me to listen, but that I would be able to do so:

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” (John 10:16 NIV11)

In his book, "Thoughts in solitude", Thomas Merton said this:

"He is heard only when we hope to hear Him, and if, thinking our hope to be fulfilled, we cease to listen, He ceases to speak, His silence ceases to be vivid and becomes dead, even though we re-charge it with the echo of our own emotional noise."

It behoves us, as those who love God, to work at listening. To consider whether we are truly listening, and if that listening is bearing fruit.

Merton goes on to say, "My life is a listening, His is a speaking. My salvation is to hear and respond. For this, my life must be silent. Hence, my silence is my salvation." Our growing ability to listen to God is a vital component of our salvation. This is not some super-skill to be developed by the super-saints. It is fundamental to my relationship with God.

It is so important because we cannot love if we do not listen, and we cannot listen unless we truly love. I was listening to someone as we talk about the ideal leader. Depending on our personalities we prefer different strengths in our leaders. Some value decisiveness, others reflective discernment, or still others a compelling vision. I know at least one of the things I want from those lead me is that they listen. It seems to me that Jesus was a wonderful listener.

More on that in this week's quiet time coaching episode.

Please pray for me as I intend to become a better listener to others, and especially to my heavenly Father.

Together with some friends I am working on an event called, 'There is No Longer Jew or Greek: Navigating the Dialogue on Christianity and Race'. Andy and Sandra Ezeilo will be speaking as well as Mike Desouza, Elleen Okotie and Rachael Corson. Dr Andy Boakye will be teaching from the Scriptures. 

Details will go up shortly on eventbrite and I will send links out to all of my subscribers. The event will take place on zoom with an opportunity for breakout rooms and feedback from the discussions. The format will be similar to the "message in the mayhem" event.

Here are a few things for you to be praying about for me, if you don't mind.

One last thing. I've changed the format of the newsletter. Please give me some feedback. Do you prefer it or would you like me to go back to the previous style?

God bless, Malcolm

2. Mentors help us learn how to listen

This week I bring you some thoughts from the fascinating book, "Faith for exiles" by the Barna organisation. David Kinnaman and Mark Matlock blend statistics, stories and theology with practical suggestions to help young men and women become resilient disciples.

They describe the four kinds of exiles: prodigals; nomads; habitual churchgoers; resilient disciples. Then give five practices which can help any young person develop resilient faith.These include:

1. Experiencing intimacy with Jesus.

2. Developing the muscles of cultural discernment.

3. Forging meaningful, intergenerational relationships.

4. Training for vocational discipleship.

5. Engaging in counter cultural mission.

I thoroughly recommend this book for anybody engaged with younger men and women. Parents, youth workers, and anybody connected to the next generation will benefit. As well as, hopefully, the young people themselves.

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

““And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 11:16 NAS95)

- Responsibility to teach in a way to help people remember

- Jesus effective at this

- "Make it Stick"

- "Retrieval ties the knot for memory. Repeated retrieval snugs it up and adds a loop to make it fast." Brown, Peter C.. Make It Stick (p. 28). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

- "To be most effective, retrieval must be repeated again and again, in spaced out sessions so that the recall, rather than becoming a mindless recitation, requires some cognitive effort. Repeated recall appears to help memory consolidate into a cohesive representation in the brain and to strengthen and multiply the neural routes by which the knowledge can later be retrieved." Brown, Peter C.. Make It Stick (pp. 28-29). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

- "When retrieval practice is spaced, allowing some forgetting to occur between tests, it leads to stronger long-term retention than when it is massed." Brown, Peter C.. Make It Stick (p. 32). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

- "The act of retrieving a memory changes the memory, making it easier to retrieve again later." Brown, Peter C.. Make It Stick (p. 41). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

- "Repeated retrieval not only makes memories more durable but produces knowledge that can be retrieved more readily, in more varied settings, and applied to a wider variety of problems." Brown, Peter C.. Make It Stick (pp. 43-44). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition.

- What Jesus taught was remembered

    - Remembering not automatic

    - Helped by practicing retrieval

- Peter reminded them even though they already know what he was telling them: “So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.” (2 Peter 1:12 NIV11)

- How can you make your learning stick?

    - Part 1: Create a learning culture.

    - Part 2: To learn, retrieve

- Question: "What is the first step you can take to put more retrieval into your lessons?"

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

PS: You might also be interested in my book: ["An elephant's swimming pool"](https://dqzrr9k4bjpzk.cloudfront.net/images/9167082/379662794.jpg), a devotional look at the Gospel of John

Loving the one who is different

Luke 7.33-39

Jesus too ‘ordinary’ - a friend to ordinary people

Anointing him as king

A political as well as a theological act

Asking for justice and mercy

‘Religionists’ not in tune with the Spirit

Church: Who am I learning from? Benefitting from spiritually? 

Churches should become more and more diverse in every sense the ‘older’ they are.

One sign of personal spiritual maturity is the ability to connect with more and more different kinds of people

Same for a church - that this can be home to more and more different kinds of people

Question to ponder: Have you noticed God bringing new people into your life?

Jesus died that all would know his Father: 

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.” (1 Timothy 2:1–7 NIV11)

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

"deliver us from evil" NIV11

“Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil!” (Matthew 6:13 MESSAGE)

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