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John the Baptist
Basilea Schlink
Basilea Schlink (1904 - 2001). German religious leader, writer, and co-founder of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, born Klara Schlink in Darmstadt to a professor of mechanics. Raised Lutheran, she studied at Fröbelseminar in Kassel (1923) and Berlin’s Inner Mission girls’ school (1924), later earning a doctorate in psychology from Hamburg University in 1934 with a thesis on adolescent faith struggles. From 1933 to 1935, she led the Women’s Division of the German Student Christian Movement, resisting Nazi exclusion of Jewish Christians. In 1947, with Erika Madauss, she founded the Sisterhood in Darmstadt, taking the name Mother Basilea, growing it to 209 sisters across 11 global branches by 2001. Schlink authored over 60 books, including My All for Him, translated into 60 languages, and published tracts in 90. Her radio programs aired in 23 languages, emphasizing repentance and reconciliation, especially between Germans and Jews. Unmarried, she dedicated her life to prayer and ministry, shaping interdenominational Christian communities.
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In this sermon, the preacher discusses the life and ministry of John the Baptist as a forerunner of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was chosen by God to prepare the way for the coming Messiah. He lived a life of selflessness and devotion to Jesus, rejoicing as his own disciples decreased and those of Jesus increased. John the Baptist's powerful preaching of repentance was rooted in his own daily practice of repentance. The sermon encourages listeners to become forerunners of Jesus by radiating love for Him and living in a spirit of penitence.
Sermon Transcription
God lives and works today. He is calling us to prepare a way for Him, so that through each one of us He may come to the whole world. That is why the message of John the Baptist is a special message for us in today's program by Basilia Schlenk. When John the Baptist was born, the neighbors must have asked, what will this baby grow up to be? And what did he become? God chose him and made him ready to live not for himself, but for Jesus, the coming Messiah. The dearest wish of John the Baptist was to decrease in relation to his Lord, who had come down from heaven to earth. And so he rejoiced as the number of his own disciples decreased and those of Jesus increased. Who can know how much John the Baptist must have loved Jesus? It was this devoted love which made John the Baptist the true forerunner of the Messiah. But how did he attain this self-forgetting love? What made him such a powerful preacher of repentance, whose words the people could not ignore? Surely this. John the Baptist was the first to turn to repentance and let his pride be broken. He spent many years in the wilderness until he came to preach repentance before the multitudes. There he practiced repentance daily. This was the root of his power as preacher and as one who prepared a way in the wilderness. John the Baptist had lived out the repentance to which he called others. Brought low under God's judgment, he was prepared to be the herald of the coming Lord. John the Baptist still speaks to us today when the second coming of Christ draws near. Jesus waits once more for those who will be ready to prepare the way. He seeks modern-day followers of John the Baptist who will devote themselves to following our Lord Jesus. He waits for those who will live daily in the spirit of repentance. For all my sins you will impart The greatest of your graces For all my sins you will impart Abundant sorrow to my heart To make me truly humble Jesus is standing at the door as the one who's coming, but he can't come if the way is not prepared. Shall we not hearken to this call of Jesus and walk in the footsteps of John the Baptist? Shall we not become our Lord's forerunners? Oh, may our hearts so radiate love for our Lord Jesus that others will be enkindled as well. Spirit of penitence, I pray Give me another heart today A broken heart most humble That will not hide but make it play My sin caused Jesus such great pain But now I'm on to grieving Phoenix, Arizona 85028-4099 God bless you!
John the Baptist
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Basilea Schlink (1904 - 2001). German religious leader, writer, and co-founder of the Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary, born Klara Schlink in Darmstadt to a professor of mechanics. Raised Lutheran, she studied at Fröbelseminar in Kassel (1923) and Berlin’s Inner Mission girls’ school (1924), later earning a doctorate in psychology from Hamburg University in 1934 with a thesis on adolescent faith struggles. From 1933 to 1935, she led the Women’s Division of the German Student Christian Movement, resisting Nazi exclusion of Jewish Christians. In 1947, with Erika Madauss, she founded the Sisterhood in Darmstadt, taking the name Mother Basilea, growing it to 209 sisters across 11 global branches by 2001. Schlink authored over 60 books, including My All for Him, translated into 60 languages, and published tracts in 90. Her radio programs aired in 23 languages, emphasizing repentance and reconciliation, especially between Germans and Jews. Unmarried, she dedicated her life to prayer and ministry, shaping interdenominational Christian communities.