When Solomon is granted any wish he wants from God we sense an incredible generosity and love from our creator and the willingness to risk all for the sake of humanity. As we breathe a sigh of relief when Solomon acts with maturity beyond his years we look forward to another incredible act of generosity and love from our creator who is again willing to risk all for the sake of humanity. This second time all who seek are granted the doorway to wisdom, love and life in the name of Christ.

Sermon Sunday August 16th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

Prompted by Paul’s encouragement to the community at Ephesus to be Christlike, we explore the gifts of community. We wonder how different community may look if we truly believe that ‘the other’ is a beloved child of God.

Sermon Sunday August 9th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

Once Jesus had given the crowd a taste for an easy feed, they pursued him hoping for more temporary relief from their ills. But with a subtle change of focus, Jesus offered them and us a salve to the gnawing need to satiate our souls. He offers himself as the ‘bread of life’, food that nourishes forever.

Sermon Sunday August 2nd, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

A crowd follows Jesus and the disciples to a remote place and are fed by Jesus as he teaches them. After a time there is a need to satisfy their hunger. A boy with a lunchbox of some loaves and fish becomes a faithful key to the feeding miracle that follows.

We continue to explore our ‘life-givng’ themes and look at how we become involved in miracles of God’s abundance.

Sermon Sunday July 26th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

As we continue reflecting on life-giving moments where God’s story has touched our own deeply, we discover that King David has a story that reflects our third life-giving theme:

We are a pilgrim people on the way.
We acknowledge that we are members of a community
and are not separate from it.

David was a nomadic pilgrim who finally was able to celebrate the Ark of God finding a home in the city of Jerusalem. But when David wanted to build a magnificent place to house the sacred Ark, God had other ideas. The God who cannot be contained is found with and within the people, and so is not separate from community.

Sermon July 19th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

King David knew clearly the story of God and how it was intertwined in his own life. He had good reason to dance as the Ark of the Covenant was being brought into Jerusalem, the religious centre of the new unified kingdom of Israel.

As we reflect on David’s story we ask about our own story of God and if we know it well enough to dance with joy. Are the places we inhabit the equivalent of God’s Holy City?

Sermon Sunday July 12th, 2009 (pdf)

In Jesus’ home town, the people tried to dismiss him because he seemed to be aiming above himself. As the disciples are sent out by Jesus, the could have been targeted with the same criticism. The unlikely band of twelve contained the likes of rough fishermen and tax cheats.

If Jesus could form and send out this band of twelve with the authority of God, then he does the same with us. We commit to growing and maturing our faith so that we are equipped to answer his call.

Sermon 5th July, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

In our gospel reading today we find that Jairus and an unnamed woman are both desperate enough to fall at the feet of Jesus. They are rewarded for their faith. We explore how we might find the ‘feet of Jesus’ today, and what the role of people with faith might be towards showing the way to Jesus.

As we reflect we find that strong and rich stories of God working in our own lives are vital to making Jesus apparent to seekers.

Sermon 28th June, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

As we encounter the stranger on the road to Emmaus who teaches the disciples and then breaks bread with them, we realise that the Holy Spirit is present. Their experience is ours as well, as we look to those places where the Holy Spirit leads us in our own lives.

Sermon Sunday June 21st, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga

We are invited into the divine mystery of the gospel as Jesus uses parables to share what God’s way is like. We find that while we may not understand the inner workings of divine mystery, the way of God leads us towards unexpected abundance and growth. Let all who have ears to listen, hear.

Sermon Sunday June 14th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga