Malcolm Cox

What is the usefulness and relevance of movement and posture in corporate worship? This is the second in a series on this topic inspired by a chapter in “Participating in Worship” by Craig Douglas Erickson.

Today we look at the issue of standing. 

We are very well used to standing in church services. But how we thought about its purpose? Do we know why we stand?

There are many postures for prayer, but the most common in the old Testament is standing: Exodus 33:8, 10; 1 Samuel 1:26; Psalm 134; Matthew 6:5; Luke 18:11-13.

Jesus stood to pray and expected that his followers would do so also (Mark 11:25). The people of God stood to listen to God as he spoke to them (Exodus 19:17; Nehemiah 8:5). Jesus stood up to speak and to read in the synagogue (Luke 4:16).

Why do we stand? I would suggest that we stand to indicate three things:

1\. Respect. It’s customary to stand when someone to whom you wish to show respect comes in to a room. Military personnel stand at attention when receiving orders. Those in a courtroom stand when the judge enters. 

2\. Readiness. When standing one is ready to move, to act, to serve. 

3\. Confidence. Quoting Eriksson, “As a posture for prayer, standing signifies the freedom and dignity of the new covenant. Adopted as God’s children, Christians may stand before God confident that they have been redeemed. Moreover, standing expresses the confidence of Christians as they await the final coming of the Lord. As the elect, they will be able to stand when God appears (Malachi 3:2). Enraptured in heaven, they will stand before the Lamb (Revelations 7:9; 15:2). 

With these thoughts in mind, perhaps we should consider more carefully when we stand in a corporate worship context. Should we stand for the reading of Scripture? Would it be helpful to stand together at the end of the service and receive an exhortation to go out into the world to act for Christ? Might it be healthy to vary our prayer postures at different points in the service and include standing as one way to exult in the confidence we have in Christ?

Have you tried something like this? Have you seen something like this done well?

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", a devotional look at the Gospel of John

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer,

This Friday’s question is: “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” We’ll tackle common objections to the resurrection. However, my question today is this:

"What is the single most significant piece of evidence as far as you are concerned?"

Send me your thoughts and come, if you can, to Bracknell Leisure Centre this Friday 25th May, 8pm. Let’s learn together.

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

We continue a new series today based on the book, “Unloading the Overload: Stress management for Christians” by Chris Powell and Graham Barker. 

Today’s episode is not based on material in the book, but inspired by its theme. Let's explore the issue of praying for things we don’t really want. What is the place for prayer in this challenge?

Jesus spent time praying for God’s will to be done in his life, even when it was tough to do so. We see him doing so in Gethsemane. If he wrestled in praying for the strength to do the will of his Father, then so might we. Can we learn from his example?

I share my own realisation of ceasing to pray about assertiveness and diligence and why this is the case - that I don’t really want to grow in them! At least, not in my flesh. What part does vision play in this dynamic? Are you praying for things you don’t really want? If so, or not, how do you resolve the matter?

Scriptures referred to in this episode: Matthew 26.36ff; Hebrews 5.7; Galatians 5.22-23.

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.

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

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, malcolm’s, cox, time, energy, faith, Benjamin Franklin,

This Friday’s question is: “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” We’ll tackle common objections to the resurrection including today’s, which is:

"Jesus' body was taken away”

How would you answer this objection?

Send me your thoughts and come, if you can, to Bracknell Leisure Centre this Friday 25th May, 8pm. Let’s learn together.

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

This Friday’s question is: “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” We’ll tackle common objections to the resurrection including today’s, which is:

"Jesus never really died”

How would you answer this objection?

Send me your thoughts and come, if you can, to Bracknell Leisure Centre this Friday 25th May, 8pm. Let’s learn together.

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

Barnabas is brilliant. But what is it that makes him so “effective” as a speaker (Acts 14:1)? We don’t know much about his technique, but we know a lot about his character and his spirituality. In this series we will investigate brilliant Barnabas in the book of Acts and beyond. In doing so I hope we will all gain insights which will help us to be as effective as him.

We move on today to Acts 15.

Thank you for listening to this recording. You can find more teaching tips here and on the on the YouTube teaching tips playlist. 

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). 

Thanks again for listening. Have a terrific Tuesday, and a wonderful week.

God bless,

Malcolm 

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer,

This Friday’s question is: “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” We’ll tackle common objections to the resurrection including today’s, which is:

"The disciples hallucinated a risen Jesus”

How would you answer this objection?

Send me your thoughts and come, if you can, to Bracknell Leisure Centre this Friday 25th May, 8pm. Let’s learn together.

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

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, malcolm’s, cox,

This Friday’s question is: “Did Jesus really rise from the dead?” We’ll tackle common objections to the resurrection including today’s, which is:

"The disciples went to the wrong tomb”

How would you answer this objection?

Send me your thoughts and come, if you can, to Bracknell Leisure Centre this Friday 25th May, 8pm. Let’s learn together.

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

Excerpts from our "Allotment Service". Songs, a lesson, worms, wood lice, planting, Isaiah, the FA Cup Final, prayer, communion and more.....!

Thank you for listening to this podcast. You can find more episodes in our feed. Our web site is http://www.watfordchurchofchrist.org. 

Join us in our adventure: 10.30 AM on most Sundays at Laurance Haines School, Vicarage Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD18 0DD. 

Please add your comments on this week’s topic. We learn best when we learn in community. 

Do you have a question about the Bible or the Christian faith? Is it theological, technical, practical? Send us your questions or suggestions. Here’s the email: [email protected].

Thanks again for listening. Have a super day. 

God bless, 

Malcolm

"In Genesis 1.27 it says God created mankind male and female and he created them, which appears to suggest they were created at the same time. Some online sites suggests that Adam had a first wife Lilith. Then in Genesis 2 it explains that God created Eve from Adam as his helper."

Judaism

* Lilith is a figure in Jewish mythology, developed earliest in the Babylonian Talmud (3rd to 5th century AD).

* Alphabet of Ben Sira is considered to be the oldest form of the story of Lilith as Adam's first wife. 8th-10th centuries CE. Mud before rib.

“Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures [lilit] will also lie down and find for themselves places of rest.” (Isaiah 34:14 NIV11)

* Cannot form a doctrine from one word in one verse which has nothing to do with Adam & Eve

Gen 1 - big picture

Gen 2 - zooming in to a place

“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NIV11)

"We got married and had two children.”

* No time described

* No order regarding the children described

“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7 NIV11)

"The naming of the animals, a scene which portrays man as monarch of all he surveys, poignantly reveals him as a social being, made for fellowship, not power: he will not live until he loves, giving himself away (24) to another on his own level. So the woman is presented wholly as his partner and counterpart; nothing is yet said of her as childbearer. She is valued for herself alone.” Kidner, Derek. Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary. TOTC 1\. IVP/Accordance electronic edition, version 2.3\. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1967.

“Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.” (Genesis 2:22–25 NIV11)

“This at last…” NRSV

"They were both naked, they needed no cloaths for defense against cold or heat, for neither could be injurious to them: they needed none for ornament. Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Nay, they needed none for decency, they were naked, and had no reason to be ashamed. They knew not what shame was, so the Chaldee reads it. Blushing is now the colour of virtue, but it was not the colour of innocency.” Wesley, John. Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.3\. Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 1997.

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

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/lilith/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilith.

mccx, Malcolm Cox, Watford, Croxley Green, teaching, preaching, spiritual disciplines, public speaking, corporate worship, Sunday Sample, Corporate Worship Matters, Tuesday Teaching Tips, Quiet Time Coaching, Coach.me, coaching, coach me, coaching near me, coach, online coaching, savior, quiet time, devotion, God, Jesus, Pray, prayer, malcolm’s, cox, Adam, Eve, Lilit, Isaiah, creation