At the very beginning of October, we will be celebrating two events. First, on October 4th, Faith Lutheran Church will be participating in Moorpark’s Country Days — a time to connect with our neighbors and celebrate living together in this beautiful community. Then, the very next day, we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Faith Lutheran Church!

This anniversary is a meaningful occasion is a time to thank God for His countless blessings to this congregation for the last 40 years, and most especially, that He has continually provided His Word and Sacrament to those who worshipped here.

These events remind me of how much God loves a party. While we rightly thank God for freeing us from our sins through all that Christ did for us, we can easily forget that celebrating is a Godly response to His many other blessings. In the parable of the Lost Sheep, when the shepherd finds the sheep again, he calls his friends and neighbors to celebrate with him. (Luke 15:6)

This is a pattern with God. When God gave the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai, He also gave instructions for festivals. “Three times in the year you shall keep a feast to me.” (Ex. 23:14) The Feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles were all times to celebrate.

The family and guests ate the Passover meal. During the other festivals, peace offerings were made. Priests received a portion of the offering, but the rest was eaten by the person offering the sacrifice with their family. (Lev. 7:15) In other words, there was regularly a huge barbeque happening at the tabernacle, where people rejoiced and shared a meal. 

Christ instituted another feast in the Lord’s Supper. We regularly sing, “This is the feast of victory to our God.” The feast we sing about is our Lord’s body and blood, given and shed for you – a joyful reminder of His sacrifice for us.

I would encourage everyone to join in both upcoming celebrations. And please invite non-Faith members to share these moments with us. We have the greatest cause to celebrate – salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Participating in Country Days is a way to share our joy in the Lord with the wider community. And our 40th year anniversary gives us the chance spend quality time together, to deepen our bonds, and to thank our Lord for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us.

And let’s keep our eyes open to find more ways like these to spend time together, share a meal, and bless His holy name.

✝️ Pastor Deming

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2025/2025-09-Newsletter.pdf

On Sunday July 27th, the gospel reading was the Lord’s Prayer, and both the sermon and the Bible study after the service focused on God calling on us to pray to Him for whatever it is we need. Following the class one of our members asks me a follow up question: Jesus said, “if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven (Mathew 18:19).” Does this mean having two or three people praying makes a prayer more effective?

What a great question! Do the numbers of people praying for something affect God's response? But first we need to look at the context of Matthew 18:19.

In this passage, Jesus is addressing how the church should respond to a brother or sister who has fallen into sin. If he will not listen to correction, it will be lovingly necessary for the church to exclude him from the congregation, with the hope this action will bring him to repentance. In this instance Jesus is not speaking about prayer in general but assuring and comforting the church that when it makes important decisions, that He is present with them in making their decision.

The question then remains: Do the numbers of people praying for something affect God's response?

Throughout Scripture, we are called to pray by Jesus, by the prophets, by the apostles.

Sometimes we pray by ourselves in our secret closet (…go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret… -Matthew 6:6). Other times we are instructed to pray as a group. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him… (James 5:13).”

To answer the question, it would appear there are times that God waits for more than one person to pray for something before He responds, such as when the church prayed for Peter after he was arrested (Acts 12:5-9). Yet Daniel alone offers a prayer to God that He would forgive His people and bring them out of exile and back to the land (Daniel 9).

Since we do not know His divine will, we should not think that more people praying is necessary for Him to hear the prayer. Yet, since we are called to share one another’s burdens, we should faithfully pray for each other in every need. And whether it is one, two, or many people praying, we can trust that God hears our prayers and trust Him to provide for us according to His good and gracious will.

✝️ Pastor Deming

The full newsletter can be found here:
https://www.faithmoorpark.com/files/pdf/2025/2025-08-Newsletter.pdf