We began a brand-new sermon series this week called “To the Last Drop.” Throughout this series, we are answering the important yet weighty question: “How do we love God?” You see, Scripture makes it clear that the very most important thing we can do with our lives is to grow in our relationships with God and love Him with everything. Throughout the next few weeks, we will turn to Scripture to understand specifically how we can love God with everything in us as fully devoted followers of Christ, starting with loving God with all of our heart and soul.
What is your love language, the way you most often feel loved?
1. Read Mark 12:30-31. Which of the ways we are called to love God surprises you the most? Why?
Mark 12:28-31
One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
2. Read Jeremiah 17:9-10. In what ways is the human heart deceitful?
Jeremiah 17:9-10
“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
3. Read Psalm 139:23-24. Describe David’s, the writer of this Psalm, heart posture in this passage of Scripture. How did he demonstrate what it looks like to love God with our heart and soul in this prayer to God?
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.
4. Read Ezekiel 36:26-27. What encouragement does this passage provide when it comes to our calling to love God with our heart and soul?
Ezekiel 36:26-27
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
1. After reading the Scripture you studied today, how would you explain what it means to love God with your heart and soul?
2. How can we guard against any deceitfulness that might be in our hearts?
3. What is holding you back from loving God with all your heart and soul?
Psalm 139:23-24 gives us great insight into how David loved God with his heart and soul. Look back at the prayer he prayed in that passage of Scripture. Which of the parts of David’s prayer would you like to follow his example and pray in your pursuit to love God with all of your heart and soul? Why? Share these answers with your group, and commit to praying that portion of David’s prayer every day over the next week.
Acts 13:22 describes David as “a man after [God’s] own heart.” In other words, he was a man who loved God with his whole heart and soul. He was by no means a perfect person. In fact, Scripture records his deep sins and mistakes. Through it all, the good and the bad, David continued to love God with his heart and soul. For the next few moments, take a deeper dive into what Scripture teaches us about David and his heart posture, so we can learn from his example of how to love God with our heart and soul. As we learn from him, even his mistakes, we will see three ways to love God based on David’s example: Guard against temptation, take sin seriously, and follow God’s leading.
As we study these moments in David’s life, we can learn from David’s mistakes to better love God with our hearts and souls. You see, although David loved God, at times he followed his own sinful heart instead of God. Perhaps the most well-known record of this behavior is found in 2nd Samuel 11. Let’s take a look at this passage of Scripture now to understand how we can learn from his mistakes.
1. Read 2nd Samuel 11:1-5. What could David have done to avoid listening to his own sinful heart and making a tragic series of mistakes?
2nd Samuel 11:1-5
In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem. 2Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath. 3He sent someone to find out who she was, and he was told, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” 4Then David sent messengers to get her; and when she came to the palace, he slept with her. She had just completed the purification rites after having her menstrual period. Then she returned home. 5Later, when Bathsheba discovered that she was pregnant, she sent David a message, saying, “I’m pregnant.”
2. Read 1st Peter 5:8-9. How might David have benefited from following the instructions given in this passage of Scripture?
1st Peter 5:8-9
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.
3. What temptation are you currently facing, and how can you guard against it?
The truth is, none of us is perfect. Each one of us will, at times, make mistakes and give in to sin that breaks God’s heart. When we sin and make mistakes, they must not be taken lightly. After all, our sins break God’s heart and have grave consequences. Take a few moments now to learn from David how we can love God with our heart and soul when we are confronted with our sin.
1. Read Psalm 51:1-4 and Psalm 51:16-17. David wrote Psalm 51 after he was confronted by the sin he committed in 2nd Samuel 11.
Psalm 51:1-4.
Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. 2Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. 3For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. 4Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just.
Psalm 51:16-17
You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. 17The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.
2. What did David recognize about his sin in this passage of Scripture?
3. Why should we take sin seriously, according to this passage of Scripture?
4. How have you experienced the benefits of confession in your life?
David may have followed his own heart in 2nd Samuel 11, but he knew there was a better way. He knew that only God brings true life. Take a look at what he wrote about following God in Psalm 25. If we want to love God with our hearts and souls, we have to follow his guidance rather than our hearts.
1. Read Psalm 25:1-10.
Psalm 25:1-10.
O Lord, I give my life to you. 2 I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. 3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. 4 Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. 5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. 6 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past. 7 Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth. Remember me in the light of your unfailing love, for you are merciful, O Lord. 8 The Lord is good and does what is right; he shows the proper path to those who go astray. 9 He leads the humble in doing right, teaching them his way. 10 The Lord leads with unfailing love and faithfulness all who keep his covenant and obey his demands.
2. After reading this passage of Scripture, what is at stake if we choose to follow someone or something in this world instead of following God?
3. How have you found David’s conclusion that God “shows the proper path to those who go astray” and “leads the humble in doing right”?
4. In what area of your life do you need to follow God’s leading today?
We can love God with our hearts and souls by living out what He calls us to do in Scripture. Based on your Scripture reading today that focused on guarding against temptation, taking sin seriously, and following God’s leading, how can you love God with your heart and soul today? Is there a sin to confess, something you need to start (or stop) doing, or a command to obey? Whatever it will look like for you to love God with your heart and soul, share that with your group and commit to taking a step toward loving God with all your heart and soul this week.
©2026 Sagebrush Church
