Malcolm Cox

S2 Ep2303: Living a Life of Love | Mark 5 | Malcolm Cox | 25 January 2026

In this sermon, I invite you to explore what it means to live a life of love shaped by God’s shalom—a deep, restoring peace that brings wholeness. As we look at Jesus’ ministry, especially his willingness to stop and heal the suffering woman in Mark 5, we see that God’s love moves toward brokenness. Jesus was never too busy to notice someone in need. My hope is that we, too, would be spiritually interruptible: ready to see, care for, and walk alongside people who are hurting, overlooked, or marginalized. Following Jesus means helping to restore what sin and suffering have damaged—through practical care, compassion, and hope. We can live this way not through our own strength alone, but through the Holy Spirit and the example of Jesus’ sacrificial love on the cross. Send questions and comments here ➡️ malcolm@malcåolmcox.org [http://olmcox.org] Subscribe to my Podcast: https://audioboom.com/channels/4909728.rss [https://audioboom.com/channels/4909728.rss] Get 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]](http://www.malcolmcox.org/ [http://www.malcolmcox.org/]).  Connect with me! Instagram: (https://instagram.com/malcolmcoxteachingtips [https://instagram.com/malcolmcoxteachingtips]) Facebook: (https://www.facebook.com/malcolmccox/ [https://www.facebook.com/malcolmccox/]) Website: (https://www.malcolmcox.org [https://www.malcolmcox.org]) God bless, Malcolm

S2 Ep2302: Refresh One Another - Episode 3 - Participate, Don't Just Congregate | QTC 577

REFRESH ONE ANOTHER — EPISODE 3: REFRESHED BY PARTICIPATION Series: Refresh One Another Podcast: Quiet Time Coaching Would you like to learn more about how to be refreshed, and how to refresh others? That's what this series is all about. I'm Malcolm Cox, and this is Quiet Time Coaching, a devotional podcast. Today we're finishing our series, Refresh One Another, based on the Bible's "one another" commands and promises. This is Episode 3: Refreshed by Participation. EPISODE 3: PARTICIPATE, DON'T JUST CONGREGATE We've seen that Jesus is the one who truly refreshes us, and that one of the main ways he does that is through other individual Christians. But here's something I've noticed, both in my own life and in the lives of others. We can be around church without really opening ourselves to what the Holy Spirit wants to do through the church as a body. Is it possible to come along each week, enjoy being with God's people, and yet stay on the edge? I think many of us have done that at one time or another. I know I have. How does that feel? Do you leave refreshed? Most often, not. Jesus has something better in mind. He invites us not only congregate, but to participate. There's a difference between being present in the room and being engaged with the people God has placed around us. We can experience the event without really experiencing refreshment. We can have Christian friends without allowing those relationships to become channels of God's grace. As Jeremy Linneman puts it in his book Why do we feel lonely at church? [https://amzn.eu/d/0cvBB8d3]: "True belonging is being fully known and fully loved—by God and by your community." As we grow in Christ, the Holy Spirit wants to shape us into people who notice others, who pray for them, encourage them, listen to them, and allow them to do the same for us. Perhaps that's a good prayer for today: "Lord, open my eyes. Help me notice someone who needs encouragement. Show me how I can be part of the refreshing work you're already doing." The apostle John is blunt on the matter. If we don't love the brother or sister we can see, how can we claim to love the God we cannot see? (1 John 4.19-21 [1%20John%204.19-21]). One of the ways our love for God becomes visible is in the way we care for the people he has put right in front of us. And if you're the one who needs refreshing today, don't carry that burden alone. Ask God for help. Ask him to show you someone you can talk and pray with. Very often the refreshment we're longing for comes through the people Christ has already placed in our lives. Let's not settle for simply attending. Let's ask the Spirit to help us participate in what he's doing. As we do, we'll discover not only the joy of refreshing others, but that God refreshes us as well. Reflection Questions: 1. Am I participating in the life of my congregation, or mostly attending? What's one small step I could take this week? 2. Who might God be prompting me to encourage, pray for, or spend time with? 3. If I need refreshing myself, who could I ask to pray with me this week? If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me at malcolm@malcolmcox.org [malcolm@malcolmcox.org]. Many thanks for listening. May we be among those whose hearts are refreshed by Christ, and who refresh the hearts of others. Take care, and God bless. Malcolm

S2 Ep2301: Refresh One Another - Episode 2 - Refreshment in Community | QTC 576

REFRESH ONE ANOTHER — EPISODE 2: REFRESHED BY COMMUNITY Series: Refresh One Another Podcast: Quiet Time Coaching Would you like to learn more about how to be refreshed and how to refresh others? That’s what this new series is all about. I’m Malcolm Cox, and this is Quiet Time Coaching, a devotional podcast. Today we begin a new series called “Refresh One Another”, based on the Bible’s one another commands and promises.  This is Episode 2 of our mini-series "Refresh One Another". EPISODE 2: HOW IT LOOKS IN COMMUNITY Last time we saw that Jesus is the chief refresher. He invites us to come to him for rest - Matthew 11.28-30 [Matthew%2011.28-30]. But there's more, and it's wonderful — one of the primary ways he refreshes us is through each other. Take the example we find in Philemon. Paul writes to Philemon in verse 7: "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people." And again in verse 20: "I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ." [1] Paul is asking for refreshment. Yes, even the great apostle, the church planter, the writer of half the New Testament — he needed to be refreshed by someone else. If Paul needed it, how much more do we? So what is it about what other people do that refreshes you? The "one another" passages in scripture point us to practices like listening, hospitality, and encouragement.  This afternoon I'm going to be visited by my old friend, Bruce. I am looking forward to it for many reasons, but perhaps the chief one is that I always leave conversations with him feeling refreshed. He has the gift of refreshment and I'm the lucky recipient today.  If you follow Christ, you're called to be part of a community of refreshment. Reflection Questions: 1. Who is someone in your life who refreshes you? Have you told them? 2. What is it about what other people do that refreshes you — listening, hospitality, specific encouragement? 3. What gets in the way of you asking for refreshment when you need it? If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me: malcolm@malcolmcox.org [malcolm@malcolmcox.org]. Many thanks for listening. Join me next time for Episode 3 — "The Exhortation: Participate, Don't Just Congregate." Take care and God bless, Malcolm

S2 Ep2300: Refresh One Another Part 1 - Jesus the Chief Refresher | Quiet Time Coaching Ep. 575

Would you like to learn more about how to be refreshed and how to refresh others? That’s what this new series is all about. I’m Malcolm Cox, and this is Quiet Time Coaching, a devotional podcast. Today we begin a new series called “Refresh One Another”, based on the Bible’s one another commands and promises. And as we always should, we begin with Jesus. Episode 1: Jesus the Chief Refresher Do you need some refreshment right now? I don’t mean just a good night’s sleep or a break from a busy schedule. I mean the kind of refreshment that reaches into the deepest parts of you and brings relief, renewal, and peace. God knows we need that kind of refreshment. And the good news is this: Jesus is the chief refresher. In Matthew 11.28-30 [Matthew%2011.28-30], Jesus says: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The word translated “rest” is the Greek word anapauō. It means to bring rest, relief, or renewal after a time of pressure. It’s the same word Paul uses in Philemon when he speaks about being refreshed. See Philemon 7 & 20. I love the NT Wright paraphrase of the Matthew passage: “Are you having a real struggle? Come to me! Are you carrying a big load on your back? Come to me — I’ll give you a rest! Pick up my yoke and put it on; take lessons from me. I’ll be gentle with you. The last thing in my heart is to give you a hard time. You’ll see — rest you need, and rest you shall have.” Jesus doesn’t just acknowledge our burdens. He invites us to bring them to him. And in Mark 6.31 [Mark%206.31], Jesus says to his disciples: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Again, it is the same word: anapauō. Jesus cares about the weariness of his people, and he provides what they need. So how do we experience this refreshment? One vital channel is directly through Jesus. Are you carrying a heavy load? Have you brought it to Jesus? Not just mentioned it briefly, but truly come to him and handed it over? Jesus is the chief refresher. He knows what you need, and he offers rest for your soul. Reflection Questions 1. What does refreshment from Jesus look like in your life right now? Not just physical rest, but soul-level relief. 2. When was the last time you truly came to Jesus with your weariness, not just mentioning it but handing it over to him? 3. The Greek word anapauō means to bring rest after pressure. Where do you most need that kind of rest today? ⸻ If you have any questions or feedback, please contact me at malcolm@malcolmcox.org [malcolm@malcolmcox.org]. Many thanks for listening. Join me next time for Episode 2 — “Refresh One Another in Community.” I hope this episode has helped you find refreshment in Jesus. God bless, Malcolm

S2 Ep2299: QTC 574. Celtic Spirituality & Sacred Music. 10 June 2026

Welcome to Quiet Time Coaching, episode 574. Today we’re talking about Celtic spirituality and sacred music. The reason this is on my mind is that I’m preparing a session on this topic for the contemplative Christian retreat we’ll be holding in Glendalough, Ireland. I’ll put details below. As I’ve been preparing, I’ve been reflecting on the role music plays in our relationship with God. Most of us have experienced moments when a song, a hymn, or even a piece of instrumental music has touched something deep inside us. Sometimes music seems to help us connect with God in a way that words alone cannot. That’s certainly something the Celtic tradition appreciated. Celtic Christians had a strong awareness of God’s presence in everyday life and in the created world. Music was one of the ways they responded to that presence. CORE TEACHING Paul wrote in Colossians 3:16: “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” Notice that music is not an optional extra. It’s one of the ways God’s word lives among his people. Music teaches, encourages and helps us express our gratitude to God. Recently I listened to a podcast featuring the musician and theologian Noël Tredinnick. He made a comment that caught my attention. Here is the quote: "Is music itself per se holy? Is music the language of the spheres, the language of harmony and harmonic series, and the scientific atoms that make up sound? The whole concept of melody, the long line of melody, linear music, harmonic music, vertical music? Is that an accident? No, that's God given. Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I have an obsession that music is a gift from God. It's more than just having to be attached to words. It can be attached to words and it speaks wonderfully when it's attached to Christian words, the Bible or whatever. But I think it also speaks wonderfully when you just play instrumental music." From Music, Theology and Worship with LST: Orchestral Mission: Noël Tredinnick, 23 Apr 2026 https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/music-theology-and-worship-with-lst/id1847574466?i=1000763258409&r=862 [https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/music-theology-and-worship-with-lst/id1847574466?i=1000763258409&r=862] He notes that music is a gift from God and that it speaks powerfully not only when joined to words, but also when it stands on its own as instrumental music. I think that’s an interesting thought. We readily understand how a hymn or worship song can move us spiritually. But what about a melody with no words? Why can a simple piece of music sometimes calm our hearts, lift our spirits, or help us sense God’s presence? Perhaps it’s because music is part of God’s good creation. Like beauty in nature, music can point beyond itself to the One who created it. This connects with a well-known Celtic idea, the concept of “thin places”. These are moments or places where we become especially aware of God’s presence. While the phrase is often associated with particular locations, I wonder whether music can create those moments too. Have you ever been listening to a piece of music and suddenly become more aware of God? More aware of gratitude? More aware of peace? If so, perhaps you’ve experienced something of a thin place. PRACTICAL APPLICATION So how might we make use of music in our times with God? One idea is to spend a few minutes listening prayerfully to a piece of music. It might be a hymn, a worship song, a piece of sacred choral music, or simply an instrumental piece that helps you focus on God. Another idea is to pay attention to your response. What emotions does the music stir? What thoughts come to mind? Does it lead you towards gratitude, trust, repentance, or worship? And don’t rush. Allow space for silence as well. Sometimes it’s not only the music that helps us hear God, but the quietness that follows. I’d be interested to hear your thoughts. Has music played an important role in your spiritual life? Are there particular pieces of music that help you connect with God? Let me know. I’d love to hear about your experience. CLOSING As I continue preparing for the retreat, I’m becoming increasingly grateful for the gift of music. Whether through singing, listening, or simply sitting quietly after the final note has faded, music can help us turn our attention towards God. Perhaps this week you could set aside a few minutes to listen carefully, prayerfully, and attentively. You may find that God has something to say. Your brother, Malcolm Retreat information: https://shop.thewayministry.global/2026-csr/home [https://shop.thewayministry.global/2026-csr/home] Music by Paul Winter [https://pixabay.com/users/kaazoom-448850/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=342833] from Pixabay [https://pixabay.com/music//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=music&utm_content=342833]