First let me say that I know that Christians who celebrate Christmas are sincere, Christ-loving people. I know that the majority of them really do reflect on that glorious day our Savior was born. Most Christians are also aware that the origins are pagan in nature and so they see nothing wrong with putting a Christian spin on it. They might look at it like 'turn the bad into something good.' But my focus is not that it's pagan in nature, or that all of the symbolism is pagan, or even because Dec 25th isn't the actual day Jesus was born. I am against it because I believe the Word of God is against it because it is unacceptable worship

2 Chron 33:15-17

15He also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the house of the Lord, as well as all the altars which he had built on the mountain of the house of the Lord and in Jerusalem, and he threw them outside the city. 16He set up the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thank offerings on it; and he ordered Judah to serve the Lord God of Israel. 17Nevertheless the people still sacrificed in the high places, although only to the Lord their God.

The Israelites had kept the old pagan form (the high places of Baal), but had merely introduced the worship of God into that form -- a refusal to let go of pagan worship forms (i.e., God was to be worshiped in the Temple, not on the high places). This was unacceptable worship because the right object of worship was mixed with wrong forms of worship; i.e., the mixing of godly worship with ungodly form. Likewise, is not the celebration of Christmas the taking of a celebration established by pagans and for pagans, and then introducing the worship of Christ into that pagan form?

Deut. 12:29-32

29”When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30beware that you are  not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?'
31”You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods. 32”Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.


God warned His people Israel to destroy all vestiges of pagan worship that they found in the "Promised Land." Not only did God want to prevent His people from being enticed to worship false gods, but He also specifically revealed that He did not want His people to worship Him in the same manner in which the heathen worshiped their gods. We know, therefore, that our Lord is displeased by practices which profess to honor Him, but which are copied from the tradition of false religions. The command here was to worship God only in His way, i.e., do only what God commands -- not adding to God's commands nor taking away from them. Therefore, is not "putting Christ back into Christmas," worshiping "the Lord your God their way"? Is there any command in the Bible to give special reverence to the Scriptural account of Christ's birth more so than to any other Scripture, let alone even a suggestion to celebrate or commemorate His birth in any way whatsoever? God never intended for His people to be imitators of the pagan customs of the world, but has called us to be separate and set apart.

1 Sam 15:19-23

19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?”
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I did obey the voice of the Lord, and went on the mission on which the Lord sent me, and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.
21 “But the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.”
22 Samuel said, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed that the fat of rams. “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.”

 Saul was to destroy all of the Amalekites and their animals but Saul spared some of the choicest animals for sacrifice to the Lord. Although his intentions were honorable and was no doubt fueled by the love for the Lord, it was rejected because Saul was disobedient. The same could be said for Christmas - even though celebrating Christmas is done to honor Jesus' birth, it is still disobedience to the Lord - Deut 12:32 32”Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

This was take from http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/xmas/celeb.htm and I altered it to my liking. Click on the link to see the unedited version in its entirety.

What is Application?

• The discipline of incorporating a Biblical truth into your life.
• The steps involved in making God's Word personal.

Verses that Talk about Application

Ezra 7:10 - Study First, then do it, then teach
Matthew 7:24-27 - The wise man hears and does
Luke 6:46 - If you call me Lord, do what I say
James 1:22 - Not just hearers but doers

Types of Application

1.   Is there some new truth to put faith in?
2.   Is there some specific stand of faith to take?
3.   Is there an example to follow?
4.   Is there an example to avoid?
5.   Is there a sin to forsake?
6.   Is there a command to obey?
7.   Is there a promise to act upon?
8.   Have I learned new truths about God, Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit?
9.   Is there some difficulty (difficult passage) to explore further?
10. Is there something requiring prayer?
11. Is there an action that needs to be done?
12. Is there an attitude that needs to be changed?
13. Is there a relationship that needs attention?
14. Is there a need for counsel?

Written Steps of an Application

1.  State the verse you are applying.
2.  State what the verse is saying to you personally.
3. State what you feel your need is.
4. State what you are going to do.
5. State how you plan to check-up on yourself.

It is one thing to plan a course of action as a result of God's Word. It is another to actually follow through with the application. That is why a check-up plan is such a good idea. A check-up can take any number of shapes. It can be a note placed in a prominent place to remind you. Or it can be a trusted friend whom you ask for help and reminders.

Source: http://www.vdrc.org/

Overview

This document will provide a very limited introduction to Bible Study. Entire books have been written about the approach to and conduct of Bible Study. This is a meager attempt to get you started studying scripture on your own. This document will discuss

• the tools you will need.
• the general approach to Bible study
• the key elements of any study.
• various types of Bible study.

Tools

You will obviously need paper and pen to record your work. In addition, you should secure the following reference materials.

Bible

In many languages, numerous translations of the Bible exist. You should use a Bible that is the most accurate translation of the original language. Using paraphrase translations may mislead you as you attempt to understand the meaning of the text you are studying. If more than one translation is available, use the additional translations to help clarify difficult passages.

Dictionary

Use a dictionary that accurately describes the meaning of words in your language.

Bible dictionary

A bible dictionary describes terms and practices in the Bible. It is normally arranged alphabetically to make it wasy to find the information you are seeking. A Bible dictionary will define terms and describe places and practices that were common in the Old and New Testament.

Bible Atlas

A Bible atlas helps you understand the geography of the Bible. Often, Bibles will have maps in the back pages as a reference. Other more detailed materials are also available which will help you understand the geography of your study.

Concordance

A Concordance lists each word used in the Bible in alphabetical order. Under each word is a list of verses where that word is used. Concordances are very useful in finding passages that corroborate and define the verses being studied.

Commentary

A commentary is the result of someone else's study. You should refer to commentaries as a last step in any study of the Bible. Reading what someone else wrote before you have done your own study will influence your conclusions prematurely.


Approach

Get the Overview

You want to fist get an overview focus of your study. Getting an overview involves reading at one sittng the entire text being studied. You may want to re-read the entire text numbers times until you get a sense of the intent and nature of the information.

Study the details

After you get the overview, you want to begin taking an intensive look at small sections of the text. You want to take each piece apart, examine and meditate on it and record what you find. This can be a very extensive effort taking many days or even weeks, depending upon the length of the text being studied. Try to focus on a particular segment of the study in one session. That is, delving into the details may take many sessions each of which focuses on a small portion of the overall study.

Summarize your findings

Spend time at the end bringing the pieces back together again with the key teachings from the text being studied. Compare what you found with the conclusions that others have drawn.

Key elements

Every type of study will utilize the same basic elements described below.

Observe

Observation is the first and most important element in Bible study. The intent is to document what the author was trying to say to the original readers. A Bible text can never mean to you what it did not mean to the original readers. So, it is absolutely essential that you understand what the author intended the original listeners to hear.

There are many different things to be observed in a passage:

• Key words - words that are repeated or emphasized in the passage
• Admonitions - advice and/or warnings the writer gives
• Reasons - often an admonition will come with an explanation
• Causes and effect - is there a relationship between one thing and another in the passage?
• Contrasts - does the writer compare or contrast things in the text?
• Illustration - what use does the writer make of illustrations?
• Repetition - look for words or phrases that are repeated
• Lists - are there lists of things in the passage that relate one to the other? Is there progression in the list?
• Questions - look for questions that the writer raises
• Connectors - And, but, if, for, therefore, in, into, with, in order that are all important elements.
• Grammar - Verbs, nouns, pronouns, adverbs and adjectives all play an important part in the communication of truth. Look at verb tenses and the use of pronouns.
• Guide words - question who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Interpret

Once you have observed the passage, you want to understand the meaning. The object is to discover what the author meant when the text was written. You should not begin interpreting until you have finished observing.

Interpretation involves understanding and discerning the meaning of the text.

• Use a dictionary to define words. Often the dictionary will shed light on key words and phrases used in the text.
• Compare other translations of the Bible to get a different view of the passage. This is where paraphrased versions become helpful.
• Use cross-references from other Bible passages. A Biblical truth in one place may shed light on another passage. Often, you'll find many cross-references; too many to use effectively. So select those that mostly nearly reflect the truth you are studying.
• Use other helps such as an atlas, Bible dictionary or Bible encyclopedia to understand the environment in which the text being studied should be written. Try not to use a commentary. If you do use a commentary, use it as a last resort.
• Summarize your conclusions.

Apply

Application is taking the truth you have uncovered and make it useable in your setting and circumstances. Guidelines for applying God's word are in a separate document in the Tools Section of the www.vDRC.org website.

Types

Book Studies

Book studies have as their goal the revelation of the truths contained in a particular bok. Book studies consist of a number of individual studies which have as their focus portions of the book. Generally a book study will include the following study groupings:

• Overview - understand who wrote it, when it was written, to whom it was written, main themes, keywords and a general summary of the various chapters.
• Chapter studies - select a whole chapter or a portion of the chapter and go verse by verse through the steps of observing and interpreting. Identify an application for each portion studied. Chapter studies may involve many segments, with subsequent studies focusing on the next portion of text. Continue these segments until all of the chapters have been studied.
• Conclusion - Bring together the results of each chapter study in the book and record the key teachings of the book.

Topical

A topical study has as its focus the understanding of a particular subject or topic in scripture. The intent of this type of study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the teachings of scripture on a particular subject.

In this type of study find all of the words or synonyms of words that relate to that topic. Then, using a concordance, look up ech reference in the bible that uses that word. As you record your observations, you will find some natural categories of use for that word in the scripture. Group like verses together in the categories that you determine are appropriate.

Go through all of the words and synonyms you have identified making appropriate groups for similar ideas.

Observe and interpret by the category groupings that you have developed. Identify the teac hings of tht topic and record your conclusions.

Then determine how that teaching applies in your environment and circumstances.

Character

The intent of the character study is to gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of a particular biblical character.

Find all of the references to that person in the Bible by using a concordance. Then, as you read the passages related to that person's life, record their strengths and weakness from a character point of view.

Draw conclusions about the person based upon your evaluation and compare that with any Biblical references to their character.

Write a summary statement about their strengths and weaknesses, highlighting examples from the text you studied.

Determine how you can apply the lessons from their life in your own environment and circumstances.

Chronological

Some portions of the bible lend themselves to chronological study. That is, a study about time. This is particularly beneficial in Genesis through Chronicles. The intent is to identify the timeline of events. As you look at the amount of time that transpired between events, observe the circumstance of the times and the events that went on in that time space.

The same techniques of observation and interpretation are needed in this type of study. Summarize your findings and determine how the truths you uncovered relate to your circumstances and environment.

Source: http://www.vdrc.org/

If you have a really great study, one that everyone MUST read, and it is Biblically sound, then it can be featured in the marquee above (link) for everyone to see. How great is that!!! Think of it as your megaphone to the entire community!

Anyone can request that their study be featured, or someone else's. Just PM me.

I will also choose members' studies to feature.

If you would like to keep all of your studies together in a neat little forum, instead of them being unorganized and possibly run the risk of them being overlooked, then PM me and I'll create it just for you. You can call it whatever you like (within reason of course) and you can choose your settings. Everyone has a favorite program or radio show that they follow, so why not their favorite Study BOT?