I’d like to begin this message on somewhat of a personal note.

As I was meditating in and praying through God’s Word, and taking what He was saying through His Word – into my heart - a picture was being painted in my mind, and on my heart.

It was a beautiful and awesome picture of His Love, and I want you to see this picture as well, so I want to share it with you this morning – all my brothers and sisters in Christ at Friends of Truth Christian Fellowship.

As I read through the scriptures this week, often times I would close my eyes and I would envision myself standing in a cold, dark, lonely, valley – unsure of my future – longing for Love, needing and desiring satisfaction and a sense of belonging in my heart, and desiring a purpose here on earth.

As I saw myself standing in that lonesome forlorn valley, before me stood a great and mighty mountain – so tall and so high that I could barely see the top.

Something inside of me was telling me that there was vast beauty on the other side of that mountain – and I wanted God to move it out of my way.

And in my prayers I asked God to move that mountain, so that I could see what was on the other side – because I was sure I could never climb over it. But God told me that He wasn’t going to move that mountain, and instead He wanted me to climb it and see what He had for me at the top.

I said,
“God, I can’t climb that mountain – it’s too high and too steep –and surely I will fall”. 

But God reached out His Hands and it was like He was saying,
“Come to me Dwight, take my Hand and let Me lead you as you climb, trust in Me that I will not let you fall,  have faith in Me that by following in my footsteps, your footing will be sure and sound because I can show you safe passage to the top – I want you to climb to the top of this mountain because along the pathway to the top I have many unending blessings for you, and what you will find at the top will be the most precious blessing of all.”

So in this vision from God, I reached out and took hold of the Precious Hand of my Lord and Saviour, and the journey began. 
At first it seemed easy, and the ground beneath my feet wasn’t too hard to navigate.  But as the journey continued, the climb to the top became steeper and sometimes the pathway became slippery and rocky.  And I began to feel a sense of uneasiness in my footing.

And as that sense grew stronger, and as I became more and more unsure of myself and in my ability to make it to the top of that mountain, one by one, more hands reached out and took hold of me.

One hand at a time – and each time a hand reached out to me I could sense a voice saying, “Come with me Dwight, we are here to help you climb this mountain”.

The journey seemed long, and at times it seemed I’d never reach the top.  But eventually I reached the summit of that great and mighty mountain.  And once I did, I turned to God and asked Him to show me what it was that was so beautiful there and to show me the precious blessing that He had promised me while I was down in the valley.

And it was as if the Lord spoke to me at that moment, and I sensed His sweet voice saying,
“Open your eyes Dwight, see what is before you, these are the blessings I poured out upon you, on your climb to the top of this mountain – these are the hands that I provided for you when the way seemed rough and rocky”.

And do you know what I saw standing before me?  I saw the smiling faces – and the loving hearts - of each one of you.
And as I stood there in awe of what God has blessed me with through my climb up His Mountain of Love, I felt the openness, warmth and love of each one of your hearts.

And this morning, and in all sincerity, I stand before you and I thank God that He has put folks like all of you in my life, and I praise Him and thank Him because it don’t get any better than the love that I have found in each one of you here at Friends of Truth.

And as I look across this room this morning, and as I look at each one of you – one by one - I can still see and feel the warmth of the mighty Love that God has put inside of you. I want to say “Thank You” to all of you this morning for who you are and for allowing God’s Love to shine through you in all you do – and for reaching out and taking hold of my hand - on my way back to God.

I wanted to begin this morning by sharing how I feel about all of you, and by praising God for all He has done for me.
Whenever we have an opportunity to share what someone means to us and what we feel for them down deep inside of our hearts – we should always act upon the opportunity. To miss it would be terrible.  We do not have the promise of tomorrow and in fact we don’t even have the promise of our very next breath – and we should always let each other know what is truly in our hearts.

My climb up the Mountain of God’s love began with fear, doubt, and an untrusting frame of mind.  It meant I needed to step out of the valley of discontent – the valley of darkness - the valley of isolation, and the valley of rejection and loneliness, and step into a whole new way of life.

That valley was the only place I knew for 30 years or so. And even though it was a terrible place to be – it was still my home at the time.  It was still a place where I trained myself to become accustomed to – and for all those years I embraced all the heartache, pain and uncertainty that valley had for me.  And for all those years I accepted that valley as the place I would be for the rest of my journey here on this earth.

So when God asked me to step out of what I thought was my comfort zone in that dark, cold and lonesome valley and when He asked me to trust Him and to have faith in Him – and to let Him lead me to a much better place - I hesitated. And when He brought me inside the walls of this place -  this building – this church – and when He told me I’d find comfort here – and that I’d find love, care, compassion – and the hearts of people who would accept me, irregardless of what my life was like before – I did not fully trust Him in that either.

When God brought me into this house of worship, and into the lives of all of my dear and cherished brothers and sisters in Christ who are sitting right here this morning - my life was still in shambles and my heart was still cold and calloused over from all the years I spent in that valley of discontent, fear and failure, and loneliness and I was just beginning my climb up the Mountain of His Love and I had fears that I’d be rejected – ridiculed – persecuted – and never accepted, and in fact, and in my mind - I was certain of it.

I had been there before.  I had already experienced the cold shoulder of the so-called “Jesus people” and in my mind – they were all alike, so I figured “Why was this time around going to be any different?” I didn’t know if I could or should trust Jesus in my life and I was not sure I could or should trust the folks He was placing in my life at the time – but PRAISE Jesus – I was wrong. And I PRAISE Jesus this morning that He led me out of and away from that valley of the shadow of death and of gloom, despair, and loneliness – and that He shined His light in the darkness for me to see my way to the the top of His awesome Mountain of Love.

And I PRAISE Jesus this morning that I have Him in my life now, and I PRAISE Him that He has put each and everyone of you in my life – and that you showed me Love. And as I continued to let God lead me this week in what to talk to you all about this morning, He showed me something else. Directly on the heels of the awesome vision of His Love, through all of you, I received an email. An email from someone I never talked to before, never met, never heard of and do not even know.  I suppose this person got my email address from my ministry web site, but how they got my email address is not important because it’s the content of that email that God wanted me to focus on this week.

It was one of the longest email messages I have ever received, and I want to share just a small portion of it with you this morning.

About a quarter of the way through, the writer said,

(now Listen)
“I started to believe in God 13 years ago.  In those 13 years I never attended church very much because to me church is boring, and unappealing, and it seems to me like an awful waste of time.  Besides that, every church I ever went to was very confusing to me.  Nothing the preachers ever told me made much sense and I never got much from listening to them.

All the preachers I heard said it is important to trust in God and to read a bible (I can’t make any sense from that either) and that I need to pray and get on my knee’s with God.  Well, I tried that too and praying don’t make any sense either.

I don’t even know if God hears prayers because I learned long ago…that He doesn’t always answer me, so I don’t expect too much from Him.  Is God REALLY listening when people pray?  Or is that just one of those things that preachers try to make people feel good about too?  I want to believe in God, but I don’t know how – it is so hard? 

And I hate it when people tell me to trust in God.  It is easy for people to tell me I should trust in God because they don’t have the problems that I do and their lives are always so perfect so they don’t have anything to worry about.

But my life is falling apart and there seems to be no way out – and I am miserable.  My husband is in a hospital dying of cancer and probably will not live to see New Years Day – my only son just began a 6 year jail term for robbing a convenience store with a gun – all the people who pretended to be my friends over the years don’t seem to want to have anything to do with me anymore and are cold and rude towards me. 

My entire family has alienated me as if I have some contagious disease that they are afraid they might catch - and many other things too numerous to mention are happening in my life that are driving me crazy and I don’t know what to do to fix anything anymore.

I spent Thanksgiving alone with nobody to spend it with and it was the worst Thanksgiving ever.  Now Christmas is coming and I will probably be spending it alone too.  I wish Christmas wouldn’t even come this year because it won’t mean anything and will be just as bad as Thanksgiving was.

My life is nothing more than isolation, rejection and loneliness.  And last Sunday as I was flipping through the TV channels with my remote, trying to find something worthwhile to watch there was some preacher talking about how wonderful God is and how with Him in our lives, we can be happy and that He will give us everything we need to be happy. 

But I don’t see it.  Nothing I know about God is very happy.  Please tell me, if you can, how God can make me happy again and how He can fix my life.  How can I trust in someone who causes trouble and causes me to be sad and lonely all the time?  How can I believe and trust in someone who has messed up my life?”

This person goes on and on about how they don’t see much hope in trusting or believing in God, and how there seems to be nobody in the world to care for or about them and then later on they said,

“I have sent emails to lots of churches and lots of preachers and even some who are on TV, but NONE of them ever bothered to answer me.   And I doubt you will answer my email either because all you so-called Jesus people are all alike.  Your for yourselves and do not care about anyone who is outside of your precious little world.  OR, if you do write back to me your probably going to tell me that I need to start living different or better, but I am too old to change my ways now, and you will probably tell me that I should start to pray to God, and go buy a bible to read.  Well if that is going to be your advice, don’t bother because I already tried those things, and they don’t work. What I really need is some true and down to earth advice – if you have any.”

There is much more to this email, and in the interest of time I will stop there.  I saw many things in this persons email.  I saw the anguish of heartache and I saw hostility and I saw the fear of rejection and I saw resentment and I saw anxiety, hurt, emptiness, and the list goes on and on.

But the one thing in particular that I saw in this persons words, was a reflection of my own life from a few short years ago. 

I thought about that, and the fact is (and even though the situation was different) – I walked in the same footsteps that they are walking in, and I traveled down the exact same road and stood without purpose in the very same valley, and upon seeing that reflection of my former life - that is when God spoke to my heart on what to talk to you all about this morning.

Although it isn’t limited to any particular season, there is one fact that stands alone in the world today.  Christmas is and should be one of the most joyful and inspiring times of the year, and in our lives, and yet it is also a time when many folks find themselves in a mighty struggle with isolation, rejection, and the number one problem facing many people around the world today – loneliness.

The very season that should bring a sense of belonging and sharing with family and friends can and DOES leave many feeling as though they are not a part of anything or anyone. This is certainly not what God intended when He sent His message of love to earth on that first Christmas.  This isn’t exactly a Christmas message either, that God put on my heart today but it is none the less, a message that all of us can benefit from – including myself.

This Mornings Message is Titled:
On Top of the Mountain of God’s Love!

Everywhere we turn people are hurting – people are feeling distressed and are feeling isolated and rejected, and loneliness dictates their every waking moment.  And – it doesn’t have to be that way.

But before we can experience God’s encouragement through His message today, we must take a first step in the journey up the Mountain of God’s Love. That step is the step of Faith and Trust in Christ.  Without Faith and Trust in God, we would never find safe passage from the valley up to the top of God’s Mountain of Love, and without Faith and Trust in God we would never even consider climbing the mountain because we’d never image there was anything better at the top.

When your down in that cold, dark, lonesome valley, and wandering aimlessly through life without purpose or reason, it is a difficult thing at times to leave that comfort zone and to have faith and trust in someone you don’t know very well.

When we are down in that valley and when God stands before us and reaches out His Hand and says “Trust Me” – “Have Faith in Me” - “Come with Me and I’ll lead you to a new and better place”, we are tempted to say,
“Nah, I’m fine right where I am.  It may not be a happy place, but it is the only place I know”. 

And when Jesus gives us His soft and gentle call to,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge ME, And I will make your paths straight.”  (Proverbs 3:5-6) …we are oftentimes tempted to say, “No thank you God, I do not know you – why should I trust you?”

What does it mean to trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding?

It means that we completely trust God with all that is within us, that we rely not on anything that we can do on our own strength, and that we give all of the strength we possess, both physically and mentally, to the Will of the Holy Spirit.
Then God can fulfill His perfect Will through us and bring glory to Himself. We do not seek our own gain - but desire GOD to receive all the glory. We get to enjoy what GOD does for Himself in us.

To lean not on our own understanding means we are not seeking to figure the problem out with human logic or reason. This is not ours to do. If GOD is truly the center of our lives, we live for Him and Him alone.

Do we really believe that He lives?  Sure we do – so then we should also believe that we can trust Him with all our hearts.
The result is the blessing of GOD falling on the obedient vessel, the vessel that was used to fulfill GOD’S perfect Will.

“In all your ways acknowledge him” – this is to fear GOD in all we do. To fear the Lord is to be wise. We should fear GOD when we get up in the morning, we should fear GOD when we start to talk, think, eat, listen, and act. When we are around people we should fear GOD. This keeps us wise, and most importantly keeps us from temptation of sin as can be found in,

Proverbs 1:7,
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

And as we are told in,

Exodus 20:20,
“Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."

Now - Here’s the blessing we find in Proverbs 3 verse 6: “HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT.”

But, how? Because He removes us from the dark lonesome valley – and takes us off of the paths of agony and isolation and rejection that we tread in the valley, and He places us – leads us – and guides us along the pathway up to the Top of His Mountain of Love. Since He is perfect, He can’t have any fault in Him. So the paths must lead to fulfilling His work, His perfect will, in and through the new life He so graciously and lovingly gives to us.

What is your pathway like today?

Are the pathways of life that you are on – straight and smooth, and lined on both sides with beautiful flowers that sing beautiful songs of praise and glory to God that brings comfort to your heart and mind, and that eases your weary soul? 

Or are your pathways crooked, and like that of a mind boggling, never ending maze with dead ends everywhere you turn, and are those pathways lined with dead and drab thorn and thistle bushes that harbor deadly and venomous snakes that are ready to strike out at you at any given moment?

And does it cause your heart to be anxious and your mind to fear what might lie in wait for you around the very next bend?

Again I encourage you to consider – What is your pathway like today?

And when Jesus stands before us and reaches out His Hands of Love – Guidance – Direction and Comfort and says, “Have Faith in Me….” - "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11:22-24)

Will you trust Him and take Him at His Word – or will you reply with something like - “I don’t have that kind of faith because nothing good ever comes to my life in such a way – and I don’t believe it ever can either”.

Never loose sight of when we are plagued with the relentless and agonizing sense of loneliness – and discontent – that God reaches out His Hand and beckons us to come to Him and gives us the assurance that by walking with Him we will never walk through life alone.

If you know Him – you will Love Him.  And if you Love Him you will know Love – and in return He will break your chains of loneliness, grief and despair and will give you the promise and assurance of, “…Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)

When we make the decision to follow Christ and finally submit ourselves to Him – He will bless you in another way too.  He will carefully place folks in your life who will reach out to you and will help you climb to the top of His Mountain of Love. 
And once you reach the summit and see His glory and beauty – those same folks who help you to the top, will remain with you and will embrace you with His Love and I am a living testimony of that very fact. Nothing can break the stronghold of the chains of loneliness and the agony of not feeling Loved, more than Christ and being surrounded by His faithful followers! But first you must come to Christ and be cleansed from your sins by His Blood! Then worship Him and fellowship with those who He has called unto Himself!

There is no excuse for loneliness – so why be lonely? Come to Christ – and Come to the top of His Mountain of Love and feel the warmth and security in and among those who He has sent to you to help you feel and know that love and comfort.

The Bible says this about the early Christians: "And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved." (Acts 2:46-47).

Going to a place of worship and fellowshipping with one another kept them full of "gladness of heart" - and kept them from being lonely.

It wasn’t the only reason for it, but it was one of the ways God provided them with a cure for loneliness! When we are stumbling through the deep dark valley of life, and when the Lord stands before us and tells us there is a better life waiting for us if we will only Believe in Him - Trust Him, and Have Faith in Him – and that He will provide for all our needs and that He will surround us with and bless us with awesome folks such as all of you, we have a tendency sometimes to cling to the old cliché “It sounds too good to be true”.  But we shouldn’t because when God says something is true – then it is! The truth is, His Love, and His Promises and His Truths are always something we can take into our hearts – and count on forever.

On that first Christmas, long ago, when God became man – one of the reasons was so that He could communicate His love to us. How then can we deny a Love so true, so pure and so everlasting? Sometimes we feel God could not possibly really love us. But Jesus came to earth to tell us in person that God does love us. God didn't declare His love for us because we were deserving of it. He did it because He is a Loving Father, who does not forsake His Children.

In, 1 John 4:10, we are told,
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
We should always keep sight on the fact that God Was – Is – and ALWAYS will be, and place our lives into His Hands.

At the beginning of His biography of Jesus, John writes, in John 1:1-5,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Sometimes these words sound lyrical and nice to consider and sometimes don’t have much of an affect on us because they seem to be too mystical and philosophical for us. In other words, we cannot fully comprehend what John is talking about.
At least, not until we read further down to verse 14. There he writes...

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth".

What John tells us is this . . . the "Word" he talked about at the beginning of his book is Jesus. The "Word became flesh and dwelt among us." This is an incredible verse. It's incredible because of what he told us in those opening words.
I don’t make this a practice, and by no means am I attempting to add too or take away from God’s Word, but just for a moment and through God’s grace, Let me read John 1:1-5, again and substituting "Jesus" for some of the words.

In the beginning was [Jesus], and [Jesus] was with God, and [Jesus] was God. [Jesus] was with God in the beginning. Through [Jesus] all things were made; without [Jesus] nothing was made that has been made. In [Jesus] was life, and that life was the light of men. The light of [Jesus] shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Do you hear what John is saying? He says:

• Christ was preexistent . . . He was there even before there was a beginning.
• Jesus was and is God!
• He is the Creator
• He is the source of life

In some mind-boggling unexplainable way (except through His Own understanding) God took upon Himself human form. Although still divine - He was fully human (in that He experienced the same hurts, same temptations, same struggles and sometimes even the same senses of loneliness that we face). But He was also fully God. He was not ALL of God. There was still part of God that was ruling the world . . . and that part of God is called the Father. But He was really and truly God in a human body.
The idea of God becoming man sounds impossible to some, and unbelievable to others.

But look at the evidence.

He claimed to be God (He claimed divine authority, He claimed divine power, He even applied divine names "I Am" and "Son of Man" to Himself.)

He lived a life that was free from error and mistakes and He lived a spotless and sinless life. When it came time to arrest Him (not for a crime but because He was getting too popular and was viewed as a threat) His accusers couldn't find anything valid to charge Him with.

He was born to a woman who had never been with a man.

His birth was celebrated and announced by angels

He taught with a wisdom and authority that to this day is unmatched by any other individual

He performed miracles that changed people, circumstances, and even the weather

He fulfilled prophecies uttered hundreds of years before His birth

He transformed the lives of everyone who came in contact with Him

He rose from the dead (the most compelling evidence of all) after His death the cross.

Jesus was and is God.  There are no other options available. Jesus was God in human form!

Some might say – Well, If He was God why would He even bother with us in the first place since we are barely specks in comparison to the giant universe we live in?

John 3:16 gives us an answer. when Jesus says,"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Jesus came to earth in order to make it possible for you and for me to live forever in God's presence. In fact, in the letter John wrote he said virtually the same thing in 1 John chapter 4 verse 9:In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Through sending His Son into this world, He declared with a mighty shout -------- “I LOVE YOU”.

And He LOVES us regardless of who or what we are.

Sometimes, and I believe purely unintentionally we make a mistake in our preaching and teaching. We tell people that God loves them as they are, and then we give them a list of things they have to do in order to receive that love.

We tell them, they must walk an aisle to an altar of confession.

We tell them, they must be baptized

We tell them, they must make the right choice

We tell them, they have to live faithfully

None of these things are wrong, and are all well and proper, in that all of these things are good and solidify our commitment. But all these things are responses to God’s love . . . not pre-requisites for His love. God loves us not because of who we are . . . but because of who He is. Jesus came to demonstrate His love by dying in our place. The cross and the cradle go hand in hand. He was born so He could die, and He died and rose again so that we may live with Him at the Top of His Mountain of Love. God's standards are unflinching. Wrong is dealt with. Sin is punished. The truth is, our account was so in debt that we were morally and spiritually bankrupt.

What Jesus did was pay our debt. He took our place. On the cross He paid the price for......

......Our wrong behavior

......Our stubborn rebellion

......Our past foolishness

......Our hidden hurts

......Our most shameful moments

Christ came to set us free from the past so we could walk with Him and dwell forever WITH Him.

Christmas is significant in this because it shows us the depth of God's love and it points us to the reason we can have hope for the future. And it is the beginning point in our walk up the Mountain of God’s Love. We should always Entrust Our Lives to Him. You see it is one thing to say that God became man so that we could be forgiven and live forever as His children.
It's another thing to believe it. But it is still another to act on it. God calls us to act on it. It involves admitting our need, believing He meets that need and then trusting Him with our lives.

......This means we need to stop trying to earn salvation and begin living as a child of God.

......It means we stop following our own pathway of life -  and start walking in His.

......It means we let go of the past and focus on the present and on His future.

If you understand what Christmas is about then we face some decisions.

......Will we take what God offers or will we simply discuss the offer?

...... Will we receive His forgiveness or just think about it?

......Will we respond to His love or will we put it off "for another day?"

These aren’t my questions to you – they are God’s – and these are the questions of Christmas.

So where are you in this journey?

Do you wish you could escape the weight of your past?

Do you wish you could find some reason for hope in your life - beyond tragedy?

Do you wish you could believe that God wasn't "mad" at you and that He really does loves you?

Do you struggle with emptiness and loneliness in your life – and especially in and during the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays?

Are you on some aimless pathway that leads to nowhere?

Are you standing in a dark, cold, forlorn valley today gazing up at a beautiful mountain standing before you and wondering if there is something better at the top?

Do you long for satisfaction, completeness and Love in your life?

Do you long for friendship and companionship that will last throughout eternity?

Do you simply long for a “few good and true” friends here on this earth?  And with and among folks who will let you know they Love you no matter what you were before you came into their lives?

Do you sense that you are lacking in your knowledge of Who God is and What He can mean to you in life?

If you have answered “Yes” to any of those questions, or if you even paused for a brief and quick moment and considered even one of them, then this message today was for you.

Along with the message of Christmas is the message of Hope in Jesus we also need to hear. God became man to declare His love, to pay our debt, to set us free. All we have to do is take His Hand and follow His lead.

Have you done that?

Have you received that greatest Christmas gift of all?

Have you heard Jesus’ plea to “come to Him” and climb up to the summit of the Mountain of His Love – with Him? And have you responded in an affirmative way?

If not, why not?

What are you waiting for?

Who are you doubting?

Why do you linger?

Why do you wander through the dark valley, all the while Jesus is asking, to let Him take you to the top of His Mountain of Love?

I know these can be trite words but I pray they aren't this morning.  It is true that what the world needs now is "love sweet love" but it is also true that you cannot love until you have been loved. When we receive Christ we also experience love - for some, perhaps for the first time in their lives. When we have experienced God's love it is our turn to share that love with others. Christmas is a great time to do just that.

This Christmas – this very day - I encourage you to continue to show love to each other, and to those around you, it could be as simple as......

......Giving a hug to someone who may be hurting

......Inviting an estranged family member or friend to Christmas dinner, or to church with you.

......Giving sacrificially and unselfishly to help someone else and to further God’s ministry.

......Taking time to tell your children or your spouse or just someone who is a cherished friend how much they really mean to you.

......Making it a point to express appreciation to those who serve you (in the restaurant, at the gas station, at the post office, the grocery store, the flower shop, the beauty parlor – barber shop, and so on down the line.)

......Showing kindness to someone you don't know by holding a door open, picking up something they dropped, letting them go before you in a line or help them in some other kind and caring way.

......And making time to listen to someone who hurts, and who may not have Christ in their lives like you do.

Everyday should be, but Christmas is our most opportune chance to tell others about God’s Love and to show others the love of Jesus.

So, do you see why this is such a significant time of year?

Do you see why this is the message you and I needed to hear today?

Christmas reminds us that we are not alone. God notices you, and your struggle . . . and He loves you. Sometimes the burdens of life seem more than we can carry . . . but we do not have to carry the burden alone.

The Love of God, the Love of each other and the Love of Christmas reminds us that there is a reason for hope and a season for Love.

Sometimes what happens here on earth is hard and painful. . . .but this is not all there is. . . Jesus points us to a life beyond the horizon, and even above the Mountain Top, to joy after the sorrow, to comfort in the midst of pain. And in keeping within the spirit of Christmas we should be mindful that it is not just about gifts, programs or family gatherings. Those things are part of the celebration but not the reason for the celebration. The reason for the celebration is Jesus . . . God become man to tell us that there is a reason to celebrate . . . . a reason to love…a reason to have hope - even in the cold dark and lonesome valley’s of our lives.

And God became man, to show us a way to the top of the Mountain of His Love.

In the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, and in all the hustle and bustle, it is oh so easy to miss the magnificence of the story of Christmas. We know the facts. We have heard about the Shepherds, the Magi, Mary and Joseph, the baby Jesus lying in the manger. And because we "know" the story - it is easy to miss it.  And we move on to other things.

And sometimes it is easy to miss the message of God’s true love in something we may have heard before like the message today – and sometimes when we hear a message that is similar to one we have heard before it becomes boring and we become distracted by our wandering thoughts or by what is going on around us, and because we think we know this story well enough too – we move on to other things.

In the midst of trying times and difficult times, and while I was trying to navigate through the mazes and pathways in the valley I was once in - I was missing the messages too.

You see, in difficult times as well as in good times, these are precisely the messages we need to hear . . . it is our basis of hope, it is our source of strength, it is our reason for joy – and it is the answer to loneliness.

And I want you to know this morning – I am ever so glad I didn’t miss the message the first time I walked through that door back there (back of the church).

I am ever so glad and thankful that I didn’t turn my back and walk the other way thinking it was all going to be for nothing, and I am thankful that you all gave me a chance.

Because when I walked through that door, and into this place, I wasn’t just walking into a building – or just another church – I was ignorant to the fact back then, but I have since come to realize that......I was walking on Holy ground......and walking into the hearts and lives of awesome folks who love me no matter what.

God sent His Son - they called Him Jesus,
God sent you to me – I call you – friend.
And now I know what true love is – a love from God, that knows, no end.

And there is no way to fully put into words what it means to me to be with all of you......

"On Top of the Mountain of God’s Love."