All in with your Heart(Matthew 22:37-38)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.

Jesus himself ordained this holy sacrament. He commanded His disciples to take of the bread and wine, emblems of His broken body and shed blood.

Communion is for all those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as Lord.

It is good for us to take some time to look at our lives and confess any sin and ask for forgiveness from God.

Let us remember that it is the memorial of the death and passion of our Lord and also a sign of His coming again.

Now Let all those who have with true repentance forsaken their sins, and have believed in Christ for salvation, draw near and receive these emblems, and wait for my instruction as we will eat and drink together.

The minister may offer a prayer of confession and supplication, concluding with the following prayer of consecration:

Dear Lord, You are so rich in mercy that you gave Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption:

as we receive these elements of the bread and wine according to the command of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, in remembrance of His passion and death, let us always be thankful.

We are reminded that in the same night that our Lord was betrayed, He took bread and, when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” Likewise, after supper, He took the cup, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

May we come before You in true humility and faith as we partake of this holy sacrament. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Then may the minister, partaking first, take the bread. let the minister say:

The body of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was broken for you, preserve you blameless, to everlasting life. Take and eat this, in remembrance that Christ died for you.

Then, may the minister, take the cup and say:

The blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for you, preserve you blameless unto everlasting life. Drink this, in remembrance that Christ’s blood was shed for you, and be thankful.

After all have partaken, the minister may then offer a concluding prayer of thanksgiving and commitment.

All In with Your Heart

Text: Matthew 22:37–38 Big Idea: God doesn’t want a piece of you — He wants your whole heart.

ME

let me take you back to a wedding that I heard about that happened a few years ago. Beautiful sanctuary. Flowers everywhere. Groom standing tall in his tuxedo. Bride walking down the aisle like a vision from heaven.

Music is setting the mood. Everybody’s smiling.

And then the moment comes — the vows. The Pastor says to the groom, “Repeat after me: I promise to love you…” And the groom says to the bride....“I promise to love you… most of the time.”

Now if I were the bride, I’d be getting out of there as quickly as possible before it became official.

Because can we be real? Nobody gets married on a “most of the time commitment.

Nobody walks into a covenant with partial love. You wouldn’t even make it to the honeymoon!

And yet — can we be honest in here — that’s exactly how many of us approach God.

We love Him… when it’s easy. We love Him… when He blesses us.

We love Him… when the music’s right, when the sermon hits, when the goosebumps come.

But when Monday morning shows up… when the pressure hits… when temptation knocks… when summertime comes our love starts getting split.

We say, “Lord, I’m Yours… most of the time.” That should be good enough for you.

WE

We’ve all been there. We love God… but we also love the approval of people. We love God… but we also love our comfort. We love God… but we also love that one sin we keep in the back pocket.

And here’s the truth — God is not impressed with partial love.

He’s not a side hustle, He’s not a weekend romance.

He’s not a part-time Savior.

He’s the covenant-keeping God who says, “I am the Lord your God… you shall have no other gods before Me.”

This is what makes Matthew 22:37–38 so confrontational — and so freeing.

Let’s read Matthew 22:37-38 together....

Matthew 22:37–38 ESV

37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and first commandment.

GOD

1. The Context of the Command

In Matthew 22, the religious leaders are trying to trap Jesus. They’re not asking because they want to learn — they’re asking to corner Him.

One of them, a lawyer, asks, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Now remember — in Jewish tradition, there were 613 laws in the Torah:

248 positive commands (“do this”)

365 negative commands (“don’t do this”)

The rabbis debated for centuries which law was most important.

It was like asking a lawyer today, “What’s the most important law in the whole constitution?” This wasn’t a small question — it was a trap.

But Jesus doesn’t hesitate. He quotes the Shema — the daily prayer every Jewish person knew from childhood:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.”

The Shema (Deuteronomy 6:5) was recited twice a day. It wasn’t just a memory verse — it was their pledge of allegiance to God.

And Jesus says, This… right here… is what it all comes down to. It all comes down to loving God.

2. “All Your Heart” — More Than Emotion

In Hebrew thought, the heart (lev) wasn’t just where you felt emotions — it was the control center of your life.

It’s where you make decisions.

It’s where your desires are shaped.

It’s where your priorities are set.

When Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart”, He’s not saying, “Work up some warm fuzzy feelings toward God.” He’s saying:

Love Him with your choices.

Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, “Not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Going all in means His will becomes the deciding factor in every choice—big or small.

Love Him with your desires.

He becomes your first love.

Revelation 2:4 warns the church, “You have forsaken the love you had at first.” Going all in means the fire you had when you first got saved is burning even hotter today.

Love Him with your loyalty.

Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” that means Your schedule, your budget, your calendar—everything starts with Him.

Nothing breaks my heart more than seeing people do so well in their walk with God only to let satan and the cares of this world snatch them away again. It’s easy to be faithful when everything is going well but what about when life hits and it gets difficult?

In Matthew 13:23 it says “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it.

This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Jesus tells the story of a farmer scattering seed—

some falls on the path,

some on rocky ground,

some among thorns,

and some on good soil.

The seed represents God’s Word. The soil represents our hearts.

1. The Path – A Hardened Heart

The seed that fell on the path was quickly snatched away by birds. This represents people who hear God’s Word, but it never penetrates.

Their hearts are hard—maybe from pride, bitterness, or disbelief. The enemy steals the truth before it can take root.

Question: Am I letting old wounds, pride, or distractions harden my heart toward God’s voice?

2. The Rocky Ground – A Shallow Heart

The rocky soil received the word with joy, but the roots couldn’t grow deep. When trouble came, faith withered.

This is a shallow response—emotional excitement without lasting commitment.

Question: Is my faith only surface level, or am I letting God’s Word take deep root through prayer, study, and obedience?

3. The Thorny Ground – A Crowded Heart

The seed grew, but thorns (worries, wealth, and desires of life) choked it out. This is a divided heart—too crowded for God’s kingdom.

Question: What “thorns” are competing with God in my life. new relationships,busyness, money, fear, ambition?

4. The Good Soil – A Fruitful Heart

The good soil represents those who hear, understand, and live out God’s Word.

Their lives produce fruit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Question: How can I nurture a heart that is soft, deep, uncluttered, and ready to receive God’s Word? What soil are you?

3. The Danger of Divided Hearts

So let me ask you: If someone followed you around for one week—looked at your phone, your bank account, your calendar—would they be able to tell that God is your first love?

What’s the first thing your heart runs to when you’re stressed—God, or something else?

Is your worship full of passion, or has it become routine?

Maybe—just maybe—God is calling you to tear down some idols and put Him back where He belongs.

A divided heart is a dangerous heart.

Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters…”

James 4:8: “…purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

If you’ve got two masters, you’ll always be torn in two directions.

Illustration: It’s like having your GPS locked onto two different destinations. One says, “Turn left toward God’s will.”

The other says, “Turn right toward your will.” You’ll just keep rerouting, wasting fuel, wasting time, and getting nowhere.

Biblical Example: Think about King Saul in the story of first Samuel in chapter 15, God told him to completely destroy the Amalekites — but Saul spared the best sheep and cattle, and the king. When Samuel confronted him, Saul said, “I obeyed the Lord…

but…” Partial obedience is still disobedience. Partial love is divided love.

Saul justified it by blaming the people,

“Well the soldiers took the best sheep”,

“Well we kept them to sacrifice to the Lord”.

Those are the worst kind of excuses because we are using religion as a cover up and in reality we are taking God’s name in vain.

when we use him as an excuse not to do something that he told us to do.

4. Wholehearted Love Produces Wholehearted Obedience

Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commands.”

Obedience without love is legalism.

Love without obedience is hypocrisy.

Love with obedience — that’s discipleship.

When your heart is fully His, obedience stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like joy.

You don’t obey to earn His love — you obey because you have His love.

Illustration: It’s like a parent with their child. A kid who knows they are loved doesn’t obey to get love — they obey because they feel safe in love.

YOU

So let me ask you — What’s competing for your heart right now?

Is it a relationship you know is outside God’s will?

Is it a habit you’ve been hiding in the dark?

Is it the idol of comfort, where you won’t do anything that costs you something?

Being all in means you don’t just invite Jesus into the guest room — you hand Him the keys to the whole house.

Illustration: When you sell a house, you can’t say to the buyer, “You can have everything except the closet in the back — that’s mine.”

No. When you hand over the deed, you hand over all of it. That’s what God is asking for — the title deed to your heart.

Some of us are living with “Do Not Enter” signs on certain rooms of our heart.

But God’s saying today, “If I’m Lord, I’m Lord of all — not just the parts you’re comfortable giving Me.”

Altar Call Moment

Today… God is calling some of us to stop living like part-time Christians. You’ve been dating Jesus — He’s calling you to marry Him. You’ve been giving Him your Sundays — He wants your Mondays, your Tuesdays, your every day.

I believe there are some here who need to make a public, physical declaration: “Lord, I’m all in. You have my whole heart. No turning back.”

In just a moment, I’m going to ask you to stand, to step out, and to come forward — not because there’s magic in the altar, but because there’s power in public surrender.

WE

Church, imagine with me… What if every single one of us went all in with our hearts? What if there were no more lukewarm believers in this place? What if there were no more secret idols hidden in the back room? What if every decision, every desire, every plan flowed from love for God?

We wouldn’t just have good church services — we’d have revival. We wouldn’t just fill seats — we’d change our city.

So today, let’s stop saying, “I love You most of the time”, and start saying, “God, You have all of me, all the time.”

Let’s go all in. No turning back.

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