Malcolm Cox

Two weekends ago, I spent a memorable time with some dear old friends—friends I hadn't seen for several decades. The occasion was a reunion of my fellow music students who graduated with me from the University of Birmingham 40 years ago. We reconvened in Birmingham for a weekend filled with walking, talking, eating, and sharing stories. We reminisced about the good old days, told tall tales, corre...

What does Ephesians tell us about Christian maturity? Read Ephesians before watching the class — or at least skim the book. 1. How might maturity be understood as the ability to deal with uncertainty? 2. How can maturity protect the community from splits and schisms? 3. In what sense might maturity help us negotiate fear?  4. If you had to relate three traits of a mature church, what would they be...

Today’s Teaching Tip is a shameless plug to join me and my friends for a day of happy homiletics.  On Saturday, the 16th of September, I will be having fun learning how to move from text through context into content and application. Our format will include teaching, discussion, Q&A and small-group work. The event will be in person and online simultaneously. We start at 10 am and finish at 3 pm...

Perhaps it is inevitable, but our granddaughter’s arrival gave me a refreshed perspective on one of my favourite descriptions of God. Let me set the scene.  Two days had passed since our granddaughter, Talaya, came into this world, and I was about to meet her for the first time. I confess I was tingling as I stood outside the hospital ward, waiting for my chance to hold her. I knew that this momen...

What does Ephesians tell us about Christian unity?  Read Ephesians before watching the class — or at least skim the book. 1. How might we use our gifts to nurture the unity that God has created? 2. What is the place of honesty in unity? 3. How might we navigate the causes of disunity in our communities? https://www.thamesvalley.church/ Admin@thamesvalley.church   Please add your comments on this w...

Do you have a framework to help you with the practical side of your preaching and teaching? In today's short tip, I offer you one from of old. It comes from a book given to me by my friend Harry Hardy, written by a church of Christ minister over 100 years ago. Do you think it is still relevant? The book is Christian ministry by Joseph Rotherham and contains the following framework taken from Dr. S...

Would you like to freshen up your approach to prayer? I want to share something I have developed that has done just that. It’s a three-step prayer framework I’ve been experimenting with for the last few weeks. Those three steps are 1. Security, 2. Submission, 3. Supplication. We conclude the series this week by putting it all together. First, however, a point of clarification. Point of clarificati...

The link you need is: https://www.aimukandireland.com Email: courses@aimukandireland.com Homiletics You might well ask, “What on earth is homiletics, and why does it matter?” Homiletics comes from a Greek word meaning to converse, or talk with someone. In the Christian context, it refers to preparing and presenting God’s Word to other people. “Ah, you mean sermons.” Well, it includes sermons, but...

Introduction   Do you ever wonder if your teaching is effective? Do you sometimes sense your preaching might not have the impact you had hoped? If so, you are like 99% of the speakers I know. The other 1% are deluded.  “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.” (Acts 14:1 NIV11)  Today, we...

Would you like to freshen up your approach to prayer? I want to share something I have developed that has done just that. It’s a three-step prayer framework I’ve been experimenting with for the last four weeks. Those three steps are 1. Security, 2. Submission, 3. Supplication. In the previous two weeks we have explored security and submission. We continue this week with supplication. First, howeve...

10th Commandment: Tests aren’t just for students. Introduction Do you ever wonder if your teaching is effective? Do you sometimes sense your preaching might not have the impact you had hoped? If so, you are like 99% of the speakers I know. The other 1% are deluded.  “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews an...

Introduction Unity is always a vital topic, but even more so now than usual.  The church continues to spread, expand and develop. This is all good but it means we must pay more careful attention to our unity.  These lessons will discuss attitudes and actions that can strengthen our unity. Today's lesson is focussed on examining one example of how Jesus built unity, and one example of how the early...

Would you like to freshen up your prayer life? I want to share something I have developed that has done just that. It’s a three-step prayer framework I’ve been experimenting with for the last three weeks. Those three steps are 1. Security, 2. Submission, 3. Supplication. Last week we discussed security. This week we continue with submission. First, however, a point of clarification. Point of clari...

Introduction Do you ever wonder if your teaching is effective? Do you sometimes sense your preaching might not have the impact you had hoped? If so, you are like 99% of the speakers I know. The other 1% are deluded. “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.” (Acts 14:1 NIV11) Point of clar...

You have found a teaching class for the Thames Valley churches of Christ. This week we take one of Douglas Jacoby's lessons and add some questions to facilitate personal and group reflection on the message of the challenging book of Jude. 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, tec...

Would you like to freshen up your approach to prayer? I want to share something I have developed that has done just that. It’s a three-step prayer framework I’ve been experimenting with for the last two weeks. Those three steps are 1. Security, 2. Submission, 3. Supplication. We start this week with security. First, however, a point of clarification. Point of clarification Dangers exist regarding...

Introduction Do you ever wonder if your teaching is effective? Do you sometimes sense your preaching might not have the impact you had hoped? If so, you are like 99% of the speakers I know. The other 1% are deluded.  “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.” (Acts 14:1 NIV11) Point of cla...

The more I study the Bible in detail, the more I realise I need a better handle on the big picture.  As I mentioned in last week’s episode, several things have come together recently to help me make the decision to read the entire Bible in 12 months. The two sources of inspiration for this decision are my good friend Douglas Jacoby who has been doing this for years, and the fact that studying text...

A sermon for the Watford church of Christ. 1. Huldah, vv14-20 A. What was an Old Testament prophet? QUESTION: Definition? A ‘covenant enforcer’ B. One of a few female prophets The others: Miriam, Deborah, and Isaiah’s wife (Exod 15:20; Judg 4:4; 2 Kgs 22:14; Isa 8:3). No sense this wrong No sense should be a man Contemporaries: Jeremiah; Nahum; Zephaniah; Habakkuk C. Knew the Bible Knew the book -...

7th Commandment: They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Introduction Do you ever wonder if your teaching is effective? Do you sometimes sense your preaching might not have the impact you had hoped? If so, you are like 99% of the speakers I know. The other 1% are deluded.  “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effect...

You have found a teaching class for the Thames Valley churches of Christ. This week we take one of Douglas Jacoby's lessons and add some questions to facilitate personal and group reflection on the message of the wonderful little book of Philemon. 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 theolog...

The more I study the Bible in detail, the more I realise I need a better handle on the big picture.  Several things have come together recently to help me make a big decision. What is that decision? To read the entire Bible in 12 months. This is part one of a two-parter on the topic.  Perhaps this decision does not seem such a big deal to you. Indeed, many years of my Christian life I have read th...

6th Commandment: Every Learner is Different so… Differentiate. Introduction Our preaching and teaching will never be perfect. But can we be effective? That’s a noble aim.  “At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.” (Acts 14:1 NIV11) A note from the previous episode  We were very blessed to...

At the time of releasing this recording I shall back from my annual spiritual retreat, but on another trip together wit my friend Douglas Jacoby. This is the third of three episodes on the value of taking a spiritual retreat and some tips to make such a retreat as meaningful as possible. Today I will focus on reviewing a spiritual retreat. Review Your Experiences ‘Two weeks after your retreat is o...

Introduction This is probably the deepest class on the topic of unity It is the hardest to teach, it might be the hardest to hear it is tough to teach, because this angle on unity can easily be misunderstood, and I am very conscious of only scratching the surface It is difficult to hear for some because it may trigger memories of ungodly experiences However, submission is spiritually enriching or...