The gospel speaks of how much God loves us. It also invites us to respond to the call to live in the way of Christ. We reflect on an amazing month in our life together and see God with us in the past, during the present, and into God’s future.
Sermon Sunday June 7th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
The Acts 2 account of the Holy Spirit coming to the apostles is striking and amazing. But beyond the dramatic imagery and incredible events lies something simple and tangible. They were given a language as the Spirit gave them ability.
We explore what that language might be, and what it is to be ‘drunk’ with the Holy Spirit.
Sermon Sunday May 31st, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
As Jesus prays to the Father on behalf of the disciples, we are reminded of our call to minister in this world but for our values to belong to the way of Christ. We reflect on this aspect of belonging and look at what it is to create community through living in Christ’s ways – community wherever we are.
Sermon May 24th, 2009 (pdf)
Sometimes it is difficult to see or sense divine mysteries. As we reflect on our experiences of being a faith community together, we begin to see the presence of the risen Christ. As Jesus invites us into a deep and abiding relationship with him, we find that as friends we are called to share this risen presence of Christ with others. We do this in tangible and concrete ways by living out our experiences of faith community.
Sermon May 17th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
We begin a month of reflection on what it is to belong to God’s family. Our gospel reading this week introduces us to the image of vine and branches, and we consider what this teaches us about belonging.
Sermon Sunday May 10th, 2009 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
There are times when our personal vision tends to rest within the scope of our own achievements. As hope diminishes, everything seems to be more difficult and vision becomes near-sighted. We hear a story of faith and faithfulness from 120 years ago where a small step of faith has profound affects still today. When we are alert to hope and things possible, vision is much larger and draws us towards God’s future.
As a story of hope, it reminds us that the risen Lord is very much present in the church today.
Sermon May 3rd, 2009 (pdf)
Luke’s gospel has the mysterious risen presence of Jesus appear to the disciples in their locked and fearful places. However it may be possible, encounters like this have changed the hearts, minds and actions of people ever since. We explore how Jesus invites us into a hopeful future and what it might look like if we find ourselves there.
Sermon Sunday April 26th, 2009 (pdf)
If the resurrection of Jesus is the most radical story for the disciples to hear, our gospel reading this week brings it alive. The disciples are locked away from the world in fear, and Jesus becomes present to them in ways the belie our understandings. Regardless of how it happened, it has changed these believers forever, and the have come to experience ‘Good News’.
Sermon, Sunday April 19th, 2009 (pdf)
The gospel of Mark has an end at verse 8 that jars – the women were told the radical news that Christ had risen and were asked to share the news – but they ran away and told no one!
With the twelve disciples mute with fear and now the women, who is left to proclaim the good news? The community of Mark would have heard this as the call to become witnesses where these others have failed. In our worship today we reflect on those places we find the risen Christ and how we might become witnesses to this radical news:
Christ is risen, CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!
Sermon Easter Sunday 12th April 2009 (pdf)
A worship service to celebrate 15 years of the Tamil Church Melbourne worshipping in Oakleigh.
Guest preacher is Rev. Alistair McRae, president elect of the Uniting Church and past moderator of the Vic-Tas Synod.