Trust Me 1 Cor 10 16
March 26, 2026
Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
Judica Midweek Vespers 25-March-2026 Sermon Series: “Hear Your Shepherd’s Voice!” Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? Sermon Theme: “Trust Me!” I. My Gracious Gift FOR YOU! II. My Life Placed On Your Lips! III. Trust In My Forgiveness of Your Sins! by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
Episode Notes
Judica Midweek Vespers 25-March-2026
Sermon Series: “Hear Your Shepherd’s Voice!”
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Sermon Theme: “Trust Me!” I. My Gracious Gift FOR YOU! II. My Life Placed On Your Lips! III. Trust In My Forgiveness of Your Sins! by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I.N.R.I. Scandalous! The audacity of that teenage girl making up such a story. She was pledged to marry an upright man in the community. Her parents claimed she was a virgin - never knew a man. Still she’s found with child. Her explanation was so scandalous that not even her just fiancé believed it....She claimed to be pregnant through her ears!
The angel Gabriel she said appeared to her , Luke 1:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" She claimed to be troubled at his saying. Luke 1:30-33 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (31) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. (32) He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (33) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
A teenage virgin she knew the biological facts of life. How could she have a Baby boy without sexual relations with a man? Luke 1:35-37 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. (36) Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. (37) For with God nothing will be impossible."
Here is how she claims her pregnancy happened: - Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. Scandalous - young virgins don’t get pregnant by a promise preached in her ears!.... Or do they? Nine months from tonight we will gather to celebrate Christmas.
Many Christians are scandalized when you confess the truth that the Virgin Mary became pregnant through her ears. They want to divorce Jesus’ incarnation from the preaching of God’s Word by Gabriel. They imagine the Holy Spirit at some other day and time overshadowed her and she became pregnant. The Virgin’s response wasn’t, “Let it happen to me in the future according to your word...it was "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." The Lord and Giver Of Life through the promise of Christ Jesus immediately created the embryo of our Savior in her virgin womb. Later aged Elizabeth praises the Virgin Mother - Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."”
The eternal only begotten Son of God the Father becomame fully and truly Man in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Incarnation is a wonderful mystery. So is the gift given us in the Sacrament of the Altar. Repent of your doubt and hear Jesus strengthen you by the Holy Spirit calling to you: “TRUST ME!”
I. True or false - “God will never give you more than you can handle”? FALSE! Just ask the Virgin and Joseph. People twist God’s Word to build up false faith in themselves. The Holy Spirit warns us through the pen of St. Paul to apply Israel’s exodus to ourselves. They were baptized. They ate and drank of Christ - but only two of that congregation entered into the Promised Land. The other 599, 998 died in the wilderness breaking faith with God’s Word of Promise.
Listen and Learn! 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (12) Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (13) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” You won’t bear it if you think you stand by your own thinking, goodness, or intestinal fortitude. Pride is Adam’s downfall - mine and yours too! The way of escape isn’t you - beware of self idolatry! Run away from fleshly temptation! Listen! 1 Corinthians 10:14-16 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. (15) I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. (16) The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” Run away from idolizing your self chosen spirituality - it is a lie. It turns your eyes to your belly button - certain you can handle sin - don’t deceive yourself!
There is only One Sin-Bearer! Eat and Drink of Him alone! (LSB. Pg. 327 SA Part 3) The Sacrament of the Altar is pure justification. 100% God’s work and gift in Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the Promise FOR YOU!
We confess that it is certainly not just our eating and drinking that do such great things. It isn’t about you - it is about Jesus going to the cross FOR YOU! He suffers alone - FOR YOU! The world’s sin is imputed upon His innocent shoulders FOR YOU! God the Father forsakes His only begotten Son - as The One Sinner of all human history - FOR YOU!
Like the Virgin we may ask, “How can this be?” Then add, ‘For I am a poor miserable sinner, dead in my trespasses and sins, I hate God from the core of my corrupt flesh!” Jesus says, “Peace!” “Salvation is never your doing...it is My gift to sinners alone! “The words written here: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
II. Pilate knew Jesus had done nothing deserving of death by crucifixion. He tried to appease the mob having the Innocent Man beaten to a bloody pulp and mocked by his soldiers. “Behold! The Man!” They didn’t look at Jesus as The Man - they saw Him a heretic to be crucified! Pilate offered a clear choice - a murderer Barabbas - or the Life Restorer Jesus. They cry out for the rebellious murderer! They want Jesus dead !
Barabbas - his name means “son of the father”. He truly is, as we all are from fallen Adam, a son of our father the devil - liars and murderers from the moment of our conception. Jesus is the True Son of God the Father - Emmanuel - God with Us! Sinless from the moment of His conception. Yet, we cry for His crucifixion so we can remain comfortable in our sin.
God the Father points to His crucified Son - “Behold! The Man!” The Second Adam - alone bears the sins of the world. My sins. Your sins. Turn from your efforts to do good! Repent! Behold the Man! Isaiah 53:4-7 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He opens His mouth only to save you Sinner! He alone is the way of escape! The Sacrament of the Altar is His true body and true blood under bread and wine promised to us by Him - for us Christians to eat and drink! Listen! The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
III. How do we receive so great a gift? “Let it be to me according to your Word!” Humble yourself as the Virgin Mary. (LSB. Pg. 327 SA Part 3) Believe Jesus’ Word - then eat and drink of His whole Body and Blood - crucified FOR YOU! Risen FOR YOU! He enters the tabernacle of your mouth making His Home in your body as you sacramentally eat and drink trusting His Promise.
Jesus’ Word is the main thing in the Sacrament. We do what He tells us - “eat and drink”! We feast on the Bread set apart and consecrated to be a communion with His Body by His Word spoken as He instituted the Supper. Our thirst for true righteousness is quenched drinking the wine set apart and blessed by His Word - a communion with His Blood.
Trust His Word - believe - receive exactly He says: “Forgiveness of sins.”
Dr. Martin Luther ties the annunciation and the mystery of the incarnation to our reception of the Lord’s Supper. He wrote: Now see, as I have said, how much the poor bodily voice is able to do. First of all it brings the whole Christ to the ears; then it brings him into the hearts of all who listen and believe. Should it then be so amazing that he enters into the bread and wine? Is not the heart much more tenuous and elusive than bread? You will probably not attempt to fathom how this comes about. Just as little as you are able to say how it comes about that Christ is in so many thousands of hearts and dwells in them—Christ as he died and rose again—and yet no man knows how he gets in, so also here in the sacrament, it is incomprehensible how this comes about. But this I do know, that the word is there: "Take, eat, this is my body, given for you, this do in remembrance of me." When we say these words over the bread, then he is truly present, and yet it is a mere word and voice that one hears. Just as he enters the heart without breaking a hole in it, but is comprehended only through the Word and hearing, so also he enters into the bread without needing to make any hole in it.
Take yet another example. How did his mother Mary become pregnant? Although it is a great miracle when a woman is made pregnant by a man, yet God reserved for him the privilege of being born of the Virgin. Now how does the Mother come to this? She has no husband [Luke 1:34] and her womb is entirely enclosed. Yet she conceives in her womb a real, natural child with flesh and blood. Is there not more of a miracle here than in the bread and wine? Where does it come from? The angel Gabriel brings the word: "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, etc." [Luke 1:31]. With these words Christ comes not only into her heart, but also into her womb, as she hears, grasps, and believes it. No one can say otherwise, than that the power comes through the Word. As one cannot deny the fact that she thus becomes pregnant through the Word, and no one knows how it comes about, so it is in the sacrament also. For as soon as Christ says: "This is my body," his body is present through the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. If the Word is not there, it is mere bread; but as soon as the words are added they bring with them that of which they speak.Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 36: Word and Sacrament II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 341.
Come to His Supper often! Hear His Promise! Say with Mary, "Behold the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Amen.
Sermon Series: “Hear Your Shepherd’s Voice!”
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
Sermon Theme: “Trust Me!” I. My Gracious Gift FOR YOU! II. My Life Placed On Your Lips! III. Trust In My Forgiveness of Your Sins! by Rev. Nathan J. Rusert
I.N.R.I. Scandalous! The audacity of that teenage girl making up such a story. She was pledged to marry an upright man in the community. Her parents claimed she was a virgin - never knew a man. Still she’s found with child. Her explanation was so scandalous that not even her just fiancé believed it....She claimed to be pregnant through her ears!
The angel Gabriel she said appeared to her , Luke 1:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" She claimed to be troubled at his saying. Luke 1:30-33 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. (31) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. (32) He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. (33) And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
A teenage virgin she knew the biological facts of life. How could she have a Baby boy without sexual relations with a man? Luke 1:35-37 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. (36) Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. (37) For with God nothing will be impossible."
Here is how she claims her pregnancy happened: - Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. Scandalous - young virgins don’t get pregnant by a promise preached in her ears!.... Or do they? Nine months from tonight we will gather to celebrate Christmas.
Many Christians are scandalized when you confess the truth that the Virgin Mary became pregnant through her ears. They want to divorce Jesus’ incarnation from the preaching of God’s Word by Gabriel. They imagine the Holy Spirit at some other day and time overshadowed her and she became pregnant. The Virgin’s response wasn’t, “Let it happen to me in the future according to your word...it was "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." The Lord and Giver Of Life through the promise of Christ Jesus immediately created the embryo of our Savior in her virgin womb. Later aged Elizabeth praises the Virgin Mother - Luke 1:45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."”
The eternal only begotten Son of God the Father becomame fully and truly Man in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Incarnation is a wonderful mystery. So is the gift given us in the Sacrament of the Altar. Repent of your doubt and hear Jesus strengthen you by the Holy Spirit calling to you: “TRUST ME!”
I. True or false - “God will never give you more than you can handle”? FALSE! Just ask the Virgin and Joseph. People twist God’s Word to build up false faith in themselves. The Holy Spirit warns us through the pen of St. Paul to apply Israel’s exodus to ourselves. They were baptized. They ate and drank of Christ - but only two of that congregation entered into the Promised Land. The other 599, 998 died in the wilderness breaking faith with God’s Word of Promise.
Listen and Learn! 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (12) Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. (13) No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” You won’t bear it if you think you stand by your own thinking, goodness, or intestinal fortitude. Pride is Adam’s downfall - mine and yours too! The way of escape isn’t you - beware of self idolatry! Run away from fleshly temptation! Listen! 1 Corinthians 10:14-16 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. (15) I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. (16) The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” Run away from idolizing your self chosen spirituality - it is a lie. It turns your eyes to your belly button - certain you can handle sin - don’t deceive yourself!
There is only One Sin-Bearer! Eat and Drink of Him alone! (LSB. Pg. 327 SA Part 3) The Sacrament of the Altar is pure justification. 100% God’s work and gift in Jesus by the Holy Spirit in the Promise FOR YOU!
We confess that it is certainly not just our eating and drinking that do such great things. It isn’t about you - it is about Jesus going to the cross FOR YOU! He suffers alone - FOR YOU! The world’s sin is imputed upon His innocent shoulders FOR YOU! God the Father forsakes His only begotten Son - as The One Sinner of all human history - FOR YOU!
Like the Virgin we may ask, “How can this be?” Then add, ‘For I am a poor miserable sinner, dead in my trespasses and sins, I hate God from the core of my corrupt flesh!” Jesus says, “Peace!” “Salvation is never your doing...it is My gift to sinners alone! “The words written here: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
II. Pilate knew Jesus had done nothing deserving of death by crucifixion. He tried to appease the mob having the Innocent Man beaten to a bloody pulp and mocked by his soldiers. “Behold! The Man!” They didn’t look at Jesus as The Man - they saw Him a heretic to be crucified! Pilate offered a clear choice - a murderer Barabbas - or the Life Restorer Jesus. They cry out for the rebellious murderer! They want Jesus dead !
Barabbas - his name means “son of the father”. He truly is, as we all are from fallen Adam, a son of our father the devil - liars and murderers from the moment of our conception. Jesus is the True Son of God the Father - Emmanuel - God with Us! Sinless from the moment of His conception. Yet, we cry for His crucifixion so we can remain comfortable in our sin.
God the Father points to His crucified Son - “Behold! The Man!” The Second Adam - alone bears the sins of the world. My sins. Your sins. Turn from your efforts to do good! Repent! Behold the Man! Isaiah 53:4-7 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He opens His mouth only to save you Sinner! He alone is the way of escape! The Sacrament of the Altar is His true body and true blood under bread and wine promised to us by Him - for us Christians to eat and drink! Listen! The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
III. How do we receive so great a gift? “Let it be to me according to your Word!” Humble yourself as the Virgin Mary. (LSB. Pg. 327 SA Part 3) Believe Jesus’ Word - then eat and drink of His whole Body and Blood - crucified FOR YOU! Risen FOR YOU! He enters the tabernacle of your mouth making His Home in your body as you sacramentally eat and drink trusting His Promise.
Jesus’ Word is the main thing in the Sacrament. We do what He tells us - “eat and drink”! We feast on the Bread set apart and consecrated to be a communion with His Body by His Word spoken as He instituted the Supper. Our thirst for true righteousness is quenched drinking the wine set apart and blessed by His Word - a communion with His Blood.
Trust His Word - believe - receive exactly He says: “Forgiveness of sins.”
Dr. Martin Luther ties the annunciation and the mystery of the incarnation to our reception of the Lord’s Supper. He wrote: Now see, as I have said, how much the poor bodily voice is able to do. First of all it brings the whole Christ to the ears; then it brings him into the hearts of all who listen and believe. Should it then be so amazing that he enters into the bread and wine? Is not the heart much more tenuous and elusive than bread? You will probably not attempt to fathom how this comes about. Just as little as you are able to say how it comes about that Christ is in so many thousands of hearts and dwells in them—Christ as he died and rose again—and yet no man knows how he gets in, so also here in the sacrament, it is incomprehensible how this comes about. But this I do know, that the word is there: "Take, eat, this is my body, given for you, this do in remembrance of me." When we say these words over the bread, then he is truly present, and yet it is a mere word and voice that one hears. Just as he enters the heart without breaking a hole in it, but is comprehended only through the Word and hearing, so also he enters into the bread without needing to make any hole in it.
Take yet another example. How did his mother Mary become pregnant? Although it is a great miracle when a woman is made pregnant by a man, yet God reserved for him the privilege of being born of the Virgin. Now how does the Mother come to this? She has no husband [Luke 1:34] and her womb is entirely enclosed. Yet she conceives in her womb a real, natural child with flesh and blood. Is there not more of a miracle here than in the bread and wine? Where does it come from? The angel Gabriel brings the word: "Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, etc." [Luke 1:31]. With these words Christ comes not only into her heart, but also into her womb, as she hears, grasps, and believes it. No one can say otherwise, than that the power comes through the Word. As one cannot deny the fact that she thus becomes pregnant through the Word, and no one knows how it comes about, so it is in the sacrament also. For as soon as Christ says: "This is my body," his body is present through the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. If the Word is not there, it is mere bread; but as soon as the words are added they bring with them that of which they speak.Martin Luther, Luther's Works, Vol. 36: Word and Sacrament II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1999), 341.
Come to His Supper often! Hear His Promise! Say with Mary, "Behold the servant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." Amen.
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