He read the bible, they stood up, he read it again but they sat down

If you stand when the text is read, why not when other scriptures are read as well?

I noticed recently that a preacher opened his bible to announce his text and the people immediately stood while the text was read. It was, he said, a show of awe and respect for the sacredness of the word of God. I could receive that, however, I noticed that he read from the bible several times in his sermon but the people did not stand each time. Why were they respectful and awed only the first time the text is read but not thereafter?

I learned that it was a ritual, in a non-denominational church that frowns on rituals and ceremony.

It appears there is a passage in the bible that focuses on a point in Israel's history when the only copy of the word of God had been found after being lost for a generation. Thousands gathered around as an old prophet stood on a platform to read its sacred pages. Excited, the people stood from dawn to noon, six or seven hours, as he read every word.

The passage is this, Nehemiah 8:5 "And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:"

If this is to be a modern guide, then we should note that the people never sat when the word was read, so each time a preacher reads a passage in his sermon, should the people stand? Or closer to the text, should they stand throughout the whole sermon? If they only stand once, then the first act is only symbolic; it is a ritual.

It is not wrong to stand when the text is read. It is certainly not a sin. Neither is it commanded by God. It is a man made ritual.

It's easy for rituals and new denominational trends to begin anew, even for those who profess a dislike for tradition, rituals and denominations.

Better than ritual, I think it best that I show awe and respect for God by hiding his word in my heart and striving to live by it everyday...even if I do sit down when when I read it from my I-pad.