December 1

Today's Reading: Luke 1:1-4

We're going to switch things up a bit for our Advent Bible reading plan. Most of the passages we'll be reading will be fairly short, so we'll have a reading for every day now through Christmas Day. I want to encourage you to consider reading these daily passages together as a family and discussing their significance. This is a great way to keep the focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

The main thing we want  to take away from today's passage is that the things Luke writes in his gospel account are based on eyewitness accounts. Luke was a frequent companion of Paul during his missionary journeys and would have had many opportunities to speak to those who had witnessed the ministry of Jesus firsthand. That means that his gospel account is true and reliable.

The identity of Theophilus is unknown; since the name means “lover of God,” it’s possible that Luke uses it generically to address any believer. However, it’s more likely that he is writing to an individual named Theophilus, who may be the sponsor of the work.