God has a dream for His church; a foreseeable future of the church as it can and must be. God has called us to come and join Him in realizing His dream for His church. What is God’s dream for His church? Jesus said in John 14:3, “I will come again and take you to be with me, so that where I am you may be too.” That’s God’s dream for the church. As we journey through this series, we’re going to learn what it takes to become a church body that moves forward into realizing the dream that God has for us.

We’ve seen that God is our encourager, that we can find encouragement from God’s word, but there’s one more source of encouragement we need – one another. God created us with the capacity for relationships – both with Him and with other people. When we encourage one another, we’re joining God’s work in another person’s life to build them up through our encouragement to be who He wants them to be. That’s a great thought! That’s what encouragement is all about in the body of Christ – helping another Christian be all that God wants them to be.

When we need encouragement, we need it. Where can we find the encouragement we need when we’re discouraged, disillusioned, or struggling to maintain our direction in following Christ? Answer: the Bible. It sounds very cliché and simplistic, but it’s the best tangible resource we have to find encouragement we need. The Bible is God’s word given to us. When we read it, believe it, and apply its truths to our lives, we’ll discover that it really is a great source of encouragement.

In the Gospel of Matthew we read the biblical account of the visit of the wise men. These men came from far in the East to seek the one who was “born King of the Jews”. Their example of faith, worship, and obedience to God sets a standard that all of us can learn from. From them we learn that faith and worship must be accompanied by obedience to what God has shown us. Are we giving the Lord Jesus Christ the priority that He deserves in our lives through faith, worship, and careful obedience to His commands?

In Luke 2:25-38 we meet two people who are often overlooked in the Christmas narrative: Simeon and Anna. This man and woman had served God faithfully all the long years of their lives, patiently waiting for Him to reveal the promised Messiah. God generously rewarded their patience and faithfulness when Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to the temple shortly after his birth. Their joy at finally seeing the Messiah was worth the wait. Waiting isn’t something most of us enjoy, but learning how to wait for God’s timing in our lives is an important part of following Christ. We’ll learn from Simeon and Anna’s example that we can wait for God who always keeps His promises at the right time.

To most people in Jesus’ day shepherds were undesirable outcasts, but to God they were precious in His sight. The first proclamation of the gospel came to these men who lived on the ragged edge of society. His generous grace cut through social stigmas to bring them the light of the glorious good news, “Unto you a Savior is born! He is Christ the Lord!” If you’ve ever felt like you don’t “measure up,” and God couldn’t possibly have a generous plan for you, come learn from God’s generous grace to the shepherds that He has His eye on you with plans of special generosity in mind.

God’s outpouring of His generous grace to all mankind took hold of Mary’s life in a way that changed everything. In one moment her plans for marriage, family, and her future hung in the balance of God’s plan. Her response? “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as You have said.” What do you do when God wants to pour out His generous grace through your life in a way you never imagined? When His call for you to follow Him into His plans for your life drastically changes the direction and plans you’ve made?

As we begin looking into the biblical narrative leading up to the birth of Christ in Luke’s Gospel, we will meet an elderly couple who discovered that God’s generous grace can break into our unwanted circumstances, our disappointments, and even our struggles to believe His promises. Though our individual circumstances differ, God has generous gifts of grace in store for all of us as we follow Him in faith, believe His promises, and obey His will for our lives.