Do you know the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas? It’s included in many Christmas carol collections.

Good King Wenceslas is out on the Feast of Stephen (December 26th). It's snowing and cold. A poor man comes into view gathering wood. The end.

If that ending seems absurdly abrupt, it is because many Christmas carol collections only print the first verse of each carol. However, when you read/sing the whole carol you find a rich and compelling story.

The King isn’t alone. He asks his Page who this poor man is. The Page tells the King the poor man is a Peasant who lives near the forest. The King then decides to bless this Peasant. He tells his Page to gather wood and meat and wine, which they will bring to the Peasant. But as they go, the winter winds get colder and the Page discovers he can’t go any further. He's freezing. Then King Wenceslas tells his Page to tread in his own footsteps and then he won't be as cold. Here's the last verse:

In his master’s steps he trod
where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod
which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure,
wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor,
shall yourselves find blessing.

When I first read the final verse, it completely floored me. The carol isn’t about the King blessing the Peasant, but about the Page—the Page who followed in his King’s steps, and received the blessing of warmth, so that he could continue to serve the Peasant. The storyteller then goes on to encourage Christian’s to do the same.

Christ is the King. You and I are His Page (1 Cor. 4:1-2). Christ sends blessings to others through us (1 Peter 4:10). And when things get really hard, by following Him, we can continue our work (Psalm 28:7) of blessing others (Phil. 2:4).

Christ came at Christmas to serve us by His life, death and resurrection. Christ our King asks us to serve others in His name. And He himself will provide whatever is needed to complete the tasks He sets before us. Though we all have our family responsibilities at this Christmas time, has He set someone else before you to bless?

If so, may I encourage you to also to trust and follow in the master’s steps, and feel the warmth that He will provide in your service to others.

God bless you. And Merry Christmas!

✝️ Pastor Deming

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2025/2025-12-Newsletter.pdf

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ
—Ephesians 5:20

As I was driving up the 5 to my pastor's conference, I was contemplating what my message would be this month. It's November, so the thought of “giving thanks” was uppermost in my mind. I was about halfway to the conference when I received a text from one of my Seminary brothers. He was texting me to let me know that all of his tests following months of chemo and radiation treatments came back negative!

My friend had already fought cancer once when he was a child. Now in his second year of Seminary, this deadly specter made another appearance. He had surgery, but because the surgery wasn't completely successful, he had to postpone his vicarage so he could undergo chemo and radiation treatments. But now, at his first checkup, he is cancer free. I immediately thanked God for this result, and texted back expressing my joy at hearing this good news.

That night, I asked myself this question, “Would I have thanked God if the results were negative?” That might seem counterintuitive. But if all things work together for our good, as Scripture clearly teaches (Romans 8:3), should we not be ready to thank God in all circumstances, and even for the trials He sends us?

My friend might never know what good God was/is working in his life by letting cancer reappear. We might never know what good God is working in our life through our struggles. But since our God is not just good, but perfectly good and perfectly loving, should we not give thanks even for those difficulties in our lives, trusting that He is working good through them?

This isn’t to say that we ask for troubles. In fact, we pray “deliver us from evil.” But these trials allow God to work in us, and to show that He is strong and He is always with us.

As we approach Thanksgiving Day, take stock and start thanking God for the many blessings He richly and daily bestows upon us—not least of which is His constant forgiveness given on account of His Son. Then, if you are going through a time of trial, give thanks to God for this as well. Thank Him for the opportunity to exercise your faith in the face of adversity. Trust that He is working good in your life. And “may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).

✝️ Pastor Deming

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2025/2025-11-Newsletter.pdf