Malcolm Cox Malcolm Cox

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 515 | New Creation Series — Part 7 | “New Creation - New Picture of the Gospel, Part 1” | Malcolm Cox

Introduction
A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’. 

Introduction: Reflecting on Our view of the Gospel
What is your picture of the gospel? Doubtless it is affected by your personal spiritual biography and formative spiritual experiences. Is it possible that your view could contain an incomplete or even distorted view of the gospel? For many, the gospel is mostly about forgiveness, going heaven, and avoiding hell. Is that all?

Good News
The ‘gospel’ means ‘good news’ (from the Greek, euangelion). The Scriptural idea is encapsulated in this verse:
“How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”” (Isaiah 52:7 NAS95)
The image is someone running from the battlefront, bringing good news of a military victory.  Watchmen were trained to notice how these specialist runners ran. If they were doing the survival shuffle it was bad news. If their legs were pumping, and the dust was flying, it was good news.
In essence, this is the gospel. God has won the victory; we are part of his victorious people and we share in his celebration.
Have a look at Romans 10:15 and Ephesians 6:15 for further development of these ideas.

“How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”” (Romans 10:15 NAS95)
“Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE;” (Ephesians 6:14-15 NAS95)

How did Jesus define the good news?
Jesus connected the good news with the coming of the kingdom. They are one and the same.
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”” Mark 1.14-15
Why did he see the gospel as the coming of God's kingdom? Because it is where God reigns and gets his stuff done. Because his stuff is good (love, mercy, justice, forgiveness, healing, wholeness), it is good news that the kingdom is here. It is an attractive place! That is why we pray:  “‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6.10
A completely different kind of life is now available: “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14.17

Conclusion: Cultivating a Healthy view of the Gospel
For reflection
Do these thoughts challenge your understanding of the gospel? What does it mean to you to live out Jesus’ mission? How do you think God is trying to get heaven into you?

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, or practical? Could you send me your questions or suggestions? Here’s the email: malcolm@malcolmcox.org.

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, and leave a review.

"Carpe Diem" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License 
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Stefan gives us the reasons behind why it's important that we are a new creation.

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: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org). 

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

Teaching Tip 358 | “Plain Speaking - Eye Contact” | Malcolm Cox 


Introduction

Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot. 



In the previous episode, we explored conversational preaching. What part does eye contact play? As Bercot says, ’None of us enjoy conversing with someone who rarely looks at us.’ 72  How do we maintain healthy eye contact?







Look at people. Make eye contact with specific people - briefly. Don’t stare at someone.  

Move around. Look at people in the front row, the back row, the balcony, the left, the right—neglect no part of the room. 

Include the camera. If the lesson is being streamed live to people online, look directly at the camera from time to time. 



What else do we need to consider?







Screens. If you are reading text from a screen, take your eyes off the screen periodically to look at the people in the room.

Notes. It is OK to look at your notes, but do not do so for long. Aim for a glance. 

Start and stop. You want the best connection with the congregation in the introduction and conclusion.

Stories. When sharing a story, it is essential to maintain connection with your listeners. Nothing deflates the power of your illustration more than looking down at your notes just as you get to the punchline!



What are your thoughts on eye contact? How do you feel about it?


Conclusion

Next time, we will go on to explore how to listen to our listeners.


Has today’s tip been worth two minutes of your time? I hope so.


Remember to keep calm and carry on teaching.


Consider joining AIM UK&Ireland to develop your understanding of Scripture: https://aimukandireland.com/. Our next module is Spiritual Life.


Contact us here with enquiries: courses@aimukandireland.com  


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: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org). 


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

Quiet Time Coaching Episode 514 | New Creation Series — Part 6 | “New Creation - New Picture of Self” | Malcolm Cox

Introduction

A new creation! I'm Malcolm Cox. Welcome to this series on ‘A new creation’. 

Introduction: Reflecting on Our Inner Image

Have you ever seen yourself on video? I first saw myself on film during a preaching training session.  Questions flooded my mind: Did I really stand like that? Was my face contorting in such a way? Why was I staring at the floor while speaking? It was an eye-opening experience.

However, our internal view of ourselves is more significant than physical behaviour.  

1. The Critical Importance of Self-Perception

Often, we carry unhealthy scripts in our minds, oscillating between "I'm not good enough" and "I'm the centre of the universe." As Christians, it's vital to develop a healthy view of ourselves because our growth into a new creation hinges on cooperating with God's transformative process (2 Corinthians 3:18):

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

Our image of ourselves is both a symptom and cause of ongoing spiritual formation. 

2. Understanding Our Identity

What can we say about who we are? 

Firstly, we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27):

“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

There's a notable distinction between humanity and other creatures—we were directly created by God, imbued with immeasurable value. 

Secondly, we are already accepted as God's beloved. John 3:16 illustrates God's profound love for humanity, demonstrated through Jesus:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”

Even Jesus needed reminders of His belovedness (Mark 1:11; Matthew 17:5), emphasising our need for reassurance. We receive this by trusting what Jesus said to his followers in John 15.9

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.”

We are as beloved of Jesus as he is beloved by Father God. To be spiritually healthy means working from a place of acceptance, not for acceptance. Do we genuinely believe that nothing we do can make God love us more or less?

Lastly, our spiritual condition is marred by inherent flaws. As Martin Luther put it:

"Scripture describes man as curved in upon himself to such an extent that he bends not only physical, but also spiritual goods towards himself, seeking himself in all things." 

Therefore we require God's transformative work (James 1:2-4):

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

This work of God needs to be done not so we become loveable but because he loves us so we can better represent him in this world.

Conclusion: Cultivating a Healthy Self-Image

Let me offer you some practices to help you create a more healthy picture of yourself—in other words, to see yourself as God sees you. 





Every morning, when you wake up, ask God to give you an awareness of his personal love for you.
Try repeating this phrase at various points throughout the day: "I am one in whom Christ dwells and delights—and I live in the strong and unshakeable kingdom of God."
Meditate on a Scripture reassuring you of God's love, such as Romans 8.38-39
Study Psalm 23 and the attitude of the shepherd (God) to his sheep (you).
Pray through Psalm 103, a Psalm that praises God for His compassion and forgiveness. It emphasises God's love and mercy towards those who fear Him.

God bless, Malcolm

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We

What is my picture of myself?

Introduction
- Do you like how you look? Have you ever seen yourself on video? How did you react. I'll never forget the first time I saw myself on film. We had a preaching training session. Each of us gave a short presentation while being videoed. We received immediate feedback from the people present, but were asked to watch ourselves on the video later. I was shocked. Did I really stand like that? Was my face actually contorting in that way? Why was I staring at the floor while speaking?! It was an eye-opening experience.
- However, our inner view of ourselves matters much more than wether we have an accurate picture of our physical behaviour.
- Our picture of ourselves is shaped by our picture of God. Correcting the latter is vital before attempting to heal the former.
- Common to have unhealthy scripts in our heads - either "I'm not good enough" and/or "I'm the centre of the universe". Most of have both, but at different times in different circumstances.





Why is my picture of myself so critical?


Christians must take this seriously because our growth into being a new creation depends on cooperating with God in his grand project to transform us into ever-increasing Christ-likeness.
2 Corinthians 3.18
“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”
My picture of myself is both the symptom and cause of ongoing malformation. To be healthy spiritually means working for God from a place of acceptance, not for acceptance. Do we truly believe there is nothing we can do to make God love us more and there is nothing we can do to make God love us less? It is vital that we find a way to deliberately surrender our need to work to be accepted.
We do this by allowing God to re-shape our picture of ourselves by contemplating what He says about us. Let's look at some Scriptures to help us with this.



2. What can we say about who we are?

a. You are made in the image of God -
Genesis 1.27
“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”


There is a distinction between the animals and us -- the animals came from ‘the land’ -
Genesis 1.24-25
“Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures after their kind: cattle and creeping things and beasts of the earth after their kind”; and it was so. God made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and the cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind; and God saw that it was good.”Humanity is distinctive in that we were created directly by God. The animals come from the earth, we come from above.
God's creative work prior to creating humans was 'good'.
After creating humans, God said his work was very good,
Genesis 1.31
“God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.”
We are immeasurably valuable to God because we are his beloved little image bearers, and this makes a difference to who we think we are. It also changes what we think about other people and how we treat them. More on that later.

b. You are already accepted as God's beloved


God wants to include us in His love
John 3.16
““For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”God sent Jesus because he already loved us, not so we would become lovable. We don't always feel beloved, but God knows this and stands ready to reassure us - just like he did with Jesus.
Jesus -
Mark 1.11
“and a voice came out of the heavens: “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.””;
Matthew 17.5
“While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am w

Teaching Tip 357 | “Plain Speaking - Speak Conversationally” | Malcolm Cox 

Introduction

Here is your 2-minute tip based on the book, “Plain speaking: How to preach and teach effectively" by David Bercot. 

In the previous episode we explored being ourselves when speaking. As Bercot says, ’The ultimate expression of being yourself is speaking conversationally.’ Why does this matter, and how do we do it?






Domination is deadly. Have you ever been at a party where you’ve been cornered by a bore? You know the kind of person. The one who speaks at you, does not recognise social cues, tells you everything they want you to hear, but shows no interest in you or your interests. Perhaps you’ve even been that person! No one enjoys that experience. Inconsiderate preaching can be like that - but it doesn’t have to be and should not be. Congregations that are talked at switch off. What a tragedy!

Conversation is connection. Good conversation connects people. ‘We’ are talking, not one person. Most blocks  of Jesus’ teaching look short, and allowed for interaction with the person or persons present. His  model is helpful for us. If God desires connection with us — and he does — then our speaking about him is best when it reflects this connection.

How do we develop the art of conversational preaching? Bercot says, ‘The secret to speaking conversational in public is to focus on ideas, not on words.’ 70  He suggests that our lesson outline should remind us of the ideas we want to convey, and not the precise words we want to use. We can trust the words will come if the ideas are clear. This is what happens in conversation. 

What are your thoughts on speaking conversationally when we teach and preach? Do you see it as important?

Conclusion

Next time, we will go on to explore the importance of eye contact.

Has today’s tip been worth two minutes of your time? I hope so.

Remember to keep calm and carry on teaching.

Consider joining AIM UK&Ireland to develop your understanding of Scripture: https://aimukandireland.com/. Our next module is Spiritual Life.

Contact us here with enquiries: courses@aimukandireland.com  

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: [malcolm@malcolmcox.org](mailto:malcolm@malcolmcox.org). 

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