December 8 - Hope Revealed

Theophilus - I mentioned that Theophilus could be a reference to a specific person or it could be a reference to all "beloved of God." There is some interesting information here.

Our reading this morning came from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) instead of the Common English Bible (CEB) that we usually use. The reading is much more familiar with the NRSV phrasing. The CEB uses "guest room" instead of "inn." Here's a blog that talks about why (note that it is referring  to a different version of the Bible but the use of "guest room" is the same. If you want more information on the question of where Jesus was born read this article.

I don't normally cite Wikipedia entries but this one on Augustus really is good.