EIFACH muetig – with Jesus as a role model
The theme for 2025 is «EIFACH muetig – with Jesus as a role model». The focus is on the question of what following Jesus looks like in concrete terms. Various topics such as relationships, state, body, creation, church, work and property will be examined in depth. These topics are topical, explosive and often controversial. Following Jesus is «EIFACH» because Jesus lived on this earth and showed how life works. «EIFACH» as the opposite of twofold (ambivalent, divided) wants to challenge us to follow Jesus with an undivided heart. «Muetig» (courageous) means taking a stand as a follower in our society and representing values, even if this sometimes causes friction. Will you join us on our journey to follow Jesus «EIFACH muetig»?
Das Wichtigste ist die Jesuszugehörigkeit und nicht die Kirchenzugehörigkeit. Als Jesusnachfolger gehöre ich ihm. Ich werde von ihm her bestimmt. Dies schliesst aber nicht aus, dass zur Jesusnachfolge die Teilnahme an einer verbindlichen Gemeinschaft gehört. Dabei geht es um das Wir. Diese Gemeinschaft stärkt, schützt, heilt, korrigiert und strapaziert meine Liebesfähigkeit. Jeder Einzelne ist gefragt. Die Mitarbeit geschieht durch die die Befähigung durch den Heiligen Geist. Im Frühjahr 2017 machte ich mit vier Jungs, alle bis auf einen Theologiestudenten, Ferien…
The Holy Spirit marks the beginning of the church. But even before that, God had already chosen people to travel with them. There is continuity between Israel and the Church. But who belongs to the Church? The true church consists of all those who believe in Jesus Christ. This is invisible to us humans, as only God knows the hearts of people. Are you part of it too? From the temple to the church God has always chosen people with whom…
The calling of human beings is to reflect God’s sovereign rule and wisdom into the world and to return the praise of all creation to God. This sermon explores the question of how we humans, as images of God, should behave in a socially, ecologically and economically just way in the creation entrusted to us. This much can be revealed: It is not about performance by our own efforts, but about being a mirror for God’s glory in this world. The calling of man is to…
Albert Einstein is said to have once said: «The first sip from the cup of science makes you atheistic, but God is waiting at the bottom of the cup.» The truth is: God reveals Himself in His creation and that is why a person can also encounter Him there. This kind of encounter has a healing effect on our spiritual, physical and mental health. And – we will join in the praise of creation and sing praises to God together. Sometimes there are art exhibitions where many…
For decades, hardly any free church had the topic of «stewardship of creation» on its radar, even though it was God’s first commission to mankind. God loves not only people, but the whole of creation. It is also the whole of creation that longs for redemption. Perhaps this is why Jesus commands: «Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation!» (Mark 16:15 New Testament). Churches are places of hope with great potential to change the world. My father-in-law was a pioneer with other fellow campaigners…
«Dominus Providebit» – the Lord will provide. This is the message on the five-franc piece. It is the message that God will take care of you in due time. Above the followers of Jesus is the imprint «The Lord provides for me». It shows dependence on God and also that he is your personal provider. With the blessing of the teens comes religious maturity. Believing for oneself does not mean knowing everything, doing everything in one’s own strength. It means trusting, growing and also making mistakes…
The religious elite of the time took offence at the fact that Jesus associated with people of ill repute and lived in community with them. They believed that the «clean» must be separated from the «unclean». Jesus responds to these accusations by telling the parable of a shepherd who leaves ninety-nine sheep behind to look for the one that is lost. The joy over the one sheep that was found and turned back was immense in both the visible and invisible world. What a pity that the…
The death of Jesus and his resurrection are often only associated with the fact that he died as a sacrifice for our sins. But it is much more – Jesus is the victor over death, every power of evil and sin! He has conquered all of this! There is still resistance, but this is the enemy’s last stand. The victory is complete! Through Jesus, I can lead a victorious life myself as his follower. He gives me the strength and…
We have a natural tendency, especially as followers of Jesus, to comfort ourselves over grief and pain and to look to a hopeful future. But on Good Friday in particular, we want to make room for pain together with Jesus and, together with the psalmist of Psalm 88, persevere in lament and grief. A few years ago, I did a Lord of the Rings marathon with my sister-in-law. With the extended version, of course. That’s a good 12 hours in front of the telly. We started in the morning…
Joy is often associated with moments of happiness, but true joy goes deeper – it is an attitude of the heart that can accompany us even in difficult times. In the Bible, joy is described as a gift from God that comes into our lives through the Holy Spirit. The place of perfect joy is the new heaven and the new earth. The anticipation of this would like to give our life in this world meaning, happiness and fulfilment. The song «The joy of Christmas that blows…
Worries have the potential to drag us down and rob us of our strength. That is why we consciously bring our worries to Jesus on the cross during this Holy Week. He bore our suffering on the cross so that we are free to orientate ourselves towards the kingdom of God. Jesus gives us the strength to bring the kingdom of God into this world. I have been working in field sales for a good two years now. It’s a very varied job. I often think it’s the best job in the whole company.…
The apostle Paul describes the body of a follower of Jesus as the temple of the Holy Spirit. As in the temple of ancient Israel, God dwells in this house with his glorious splendour. This has powerful effects for the person himself, but also for the whole environment. As in ancient times, the temple must be regularly repaired so that the Spirit of God feels comfortable and can unfold. Nowadays, almost everything is available in «to-go» form: Coffee to go, pizza to go, bowl to…
A person who enters into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is given a comprehensive identity that integrates all partial identities: He is a beloved child of God who belongs to the family of God. This main identity also includes our sexual identity and gives it the right significance. Jesus himself teaches in the New Testament what a good approach to sexual inclinations should look like. Who am I? This question occupies us humans more or less our whole lives. Possible answers are: Mother of children, manager, FC Aarau fan,…
Christians in the 1st century lived a revolutionary sexuality. The basis for this was the Judeo-Christian worldview, which included values such as the equality of men and women, marriage between a man and a woman as a framework for living out sexuality, consensuality and the high value of the body. Christian values could have a very positive influence on society, especially in this day and age when consensuality between adults is the highest sexual ethical value. A study by Ohio State University has…
The value we place on the physical and material has a huge impact on questions of ethics, sexuality and the preservation of creation. In addition to the creation account, the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus and his bodily resurrection also show that the body is of great importance in the Bible. Ultimately, there will be a new heaven and a new earth where people with new bodies will live in close communion with God. What value does a person’s body have.…
As a follower of Jesus, I am in this world, but I try to align myself with God’s standards. As far as possible, I voluntarily integrate myself into the state structure and pray for the government. Followers of Jesus are the salt and light of the world, so it is important to shape the culture – but how should this be done? Which path is the right one? The decisive characteristic and criterion is love for God, for fellow followers of Jesus and for our fellow human beings. The state and I followers of Jesus…
God created the earth and he wanted to establish order on the earth. This has its roots in the heavenly order. The key point here is that God is the King! This is why Israel had no king for a long time. However, the people increasingly said goodbye to theocracy and wanted a monarchy. No matter what form of government we live in, we should submit to it. Followers of Jesus are not called to criticise things, but to be the salt of the world.
Man was created with a relational potential that requires both a vertical relationship with God and a horizontal relationship with people. In a friendship there are natural elements and also supernatural elements. When the two come together, a stronger bond is formed. In a marriage, there is also romantic love. This is the ideal prerequisite for the spouses to support and accompany each other on the path to new creation. In Genesis 1 and 2, God looks at his creation and repeatedly provides it with…
All people have parents and we cannot choose them. It is a biblical principle that we should honour our father and mother. This is the key to a fulfilled life. The basic prerequisite for being able to honour my parents is God’s love for us. Being accepted by him makes it possible for me to honour my parents. When I honour my parents, I am ultimately honouring God, who placed me in this family! Today we are going to deal with the…
We need truth in order to know how we should live. However, truth is highly controversial today. According to the Bible, the Holy Spirit gives us access to the truth and also helps us to live in this truth. The Bible plays a central role in this. We hear in almost every sermon that we should/can do this or that by the power of the Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit actually do and how does he do it? I would like to explain this to you in various…
«He will not break the bent reed or extinguish the smouldering wick. […]» (Isaiah 42:3 NLB). This is today’s daily reading. It describes the promised servant of God. Jesus Christ fulfils every aspect of what is promised about him. He is the gentle servant of God who does not break the bruised reed or snuff out the smouldering wick. The one who meets us weak people as a patient physician and wants to show himself strong in our weakness. In this way we can…
«Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ» (Ephesians 5:21). This sentence is the overture to the great section on marriage in Ephesians 5, which actually contains everything you need for a happy and fulfilling marriage. It is simple and requires courage. Anyone who puts their personal happiness first and endeavours to be happy at all costs is well on the way to losing their last bit of happiness. Unbroken is an exciting film…
«EIFACH muetig – with Jesus as our role model…» is our new theme for the year. There are various images for the relationship between Jesus and the Church. One of them is the bride and bridegroom. If the relationship between Jesus and his bride is seen through the eyes of the old wedding ceremony, much becomes clear. The basis is the marriage contract, which primarily places the bridegroom under obligation and grants the bride protection. The bride, on the other hand, is completely preoccupied with preparing for the upcoming wedding…