St. David's is an English speaking congregation of the Uniting Church in Australia that celebrates her place in the cross-cultural parish of Balkara.
The Uniting Church in Australia is made up of congregations in the Methodist, Presbyterian and Congregational traditions.
Phone: (03) 9562 7559 Email: balkara@oakleigh.unitingchurch.org.au 154 Drummond St, Oakleigh, VIC, 3166
The disciples ask and Jesus offers a time of teaching about prayer. We reflect on the big picture and emphasis of the ‘Jesus Prayer’ and how that affects the way we pray and what we pray for.
Sermon Sunday July 25th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
This week we reflect on Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha. Taken in isolation, Martha gets a rap for being busy and distracted even though the things she is busy with are good things to do. Mary gets accolades from Jesus and yet always sitting at the feet of Jesus does not really seem like an answer either.
We consider the role of action and reflection together, inspired by the pairing of this story with the story of the ‘Good Samaritan’ immediately before in Luke’s gospel.
Sermon Sunday July 18th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
This week we hear Jesus share the parable we commonly know as the ‘Good Samaritan’. Even though such a familiar story might lose its punch, we are provoked to reflect on what it means to care for others in the midst of complex lives and situations.
Sermon Sunday July 11th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
We reflect this week on an amazing story of a general, two kings at war and the voice of a prophet. It is a situation that brings an unlikely healing for the general, but apart from those already mentioned, there is a long list of others who made the restoration of God possible.
Sermon Sunday July 4th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
This week we celebrate ‘Simply Sharing’ and reflect on the call of Christ to ‘extend hospitality to strangers’. We think about barriers to noticing strangers and ways to extend ourselves to live as Christ calls.
Sermon Sunday June 27th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
Who we are and the baggage we carry with us impacts on how we live. We reflect on the idea that unity with others demands that we deal within. We are reminded that Jesus is the true vine and that pruning the old wood from our lives is often difficult or painful.
Sermon Sunday June 20th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
We often tell stories that make us either look good or feel good about ourselves. We encounter a fascinating story from the gospel of Luke where a Pharisee is upstaged by a “sinner”. As we delve into the details we reflect on our own role as both Pharisee and “sinner”, and find a path to God’s grace and love.
Sermon Sunday June 13th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
Things are not as they appear. When both widow and prophet are struggling to make sense of a desperate situation they are both pushed to see beyond limits. Through a difficult human encounter the hospitality of God is found and with it an abundance never imagined or thought possible.
Sermon Sunday June 6th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church, Oakleigh
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
Often the realities of life prevent us from functioning at our best. This was as true for Jesus’ disciples as it is for us. This week we reflect on the feeding story where there is only a few loaves and fish available for a large crowd and the disciples lack vision for what is possible.
Jesus invites the disciples to feed the crowd and yet they cannot. So rather than get angry or just do it himself, he begins the process of blessing and breaking of the bread and then invites the disciples to join in with the hospitality of God.
Sermon Sunday May 30th, 2010 (pdf)
St. David’s Uniting Church
Rev. Arnie Wierenga
As we celebrate Mother’s Day and the gift of life and creation given us by God, we reflect on the amazing story of call upon Mary. As the angel greets her with news difficult to fathom, we consider why this is good news, not simply for Mary but for everyone.