STORIES YOU SHOULD KNOW | JULY 20, 2025

Total Obedience – Chip Henderson

Sermon Highlights

Key Passage: 1 Samuel 15:1-35

God gave King Saul a clear command: completely destroy the Amalekites as judgment for their past evil and as protection for Israel’s future. This wasn’t about revenge. It was a spiritual battle and a holy assignment. But Saul chose to keep the enemy king alive and spared what he considered “the best” of the livestock. His partial obedience was a full disobedience, and it cost him everything.

We’re not so different. Like Saul, we often obey selectively, excuse our actions, or protect our image instead of owning our sin. Sometimes that shows up as pride or even narcissism—blaming others, shifting the narrative, or manipulating truth. Samuel gives us a better example: he grieves, prays, speaks truth, and refuses to enable disobedience.

True obedience is fully doing what God says, when He says, with the right heart attitude. And if that’s the kind of life we want to live, we must intentionally develop it.

How to develop a heart of total obedience:

  • Develop the right definition of obedience. Obedience is fully doing what God says, when God says, with the right heart attitude.
  • You don’t fear people. You fear and trust God.
  • Remind yourself daily of what God says and who He is.
  • Remember that your obedience is part of God’s ultimate plan.

If you know you’ve disobeyed, there is still a way forward:

  • Confess it—honestly admit where you went wrong
  • Correct it—turn from sin and take steps back toward God’s will

This story isn’t just a warning—it’s an invitation. Our hope isn’t in trying harder or making up for what we’ve done wrong. It’s in Jesus, the perfect sacrifice who offers forgiveness, restores what’s broken, and gives us the power to walk in obedience.

INTRO

Icebreaker

Would you say you’re more of a rule-follower or a rule-breaker? What’s something you’ve done that makes this obvious?

Transition to Discussion

Whether you’re a natural rule-follower or more of a free spirit, today’s story challenges all of us to take a closer look at what it really means to obey God. Let’s look at 1 Samuel 15 together and talk about why partial obedience isn’t enough in God’s eyes.

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Read or review 1 Samuel 15 together.

What stands out to you most about how Saul handled God’s command and Samuel’s confrontation?

When has God asked you to do something that felt unreasonable, uncomfortable, or confusing? How did you respond?

Have you ever obeyed most of what God asked, but not all of it? Why do you think partial obedience is still disobedience, even when your intentions seem good?

When you’re confronted with your own disobedience, how do you tend to respond? Do you own it, justify it, blame others, or shift the focus? How does the Bible instruct us to respond?

When are you tempted to care more about appearances than real repentance? Have you ever seen pride or even narcissistic tendencies get in the way of owning sin honestly?

Read Proverbs 16:2. Why is it easy to assume your motives are right? Is it hard for you to be open to God’s correction when your heart may be off track?

Read Hebrews 10:11-14. How does this passage shape the way you view guilt, failure, or past disobedience? What hope does it give you as you move forward in obedience?

NEXT STEP

Take a few quiet moments right now to ask God: Where am I not fully obeying You?

  • Is there something God has asked you to do, but you’ve delayed or ignored it?
  • Is there a sin you’ve justified or tried to manage instead of confessing?
  • Is your obedience more about appearances than true surrender?
  • Are you holding onto something God asked you to let go of?

Let God speak. Journal what He brings to mind. Write down one clear action step you can take this week in response.

Give your group a few minutes of silence to pray, reflect, and write.

PRAYER

As we close our time, I want to read a prayer from Scripture, Psalm 51:1-12. This is David’s response to his own failure, and it serves as a powerful model of confession and surrender. Let these words guide your own prayer. You don’t have to say anything out loud. Just sit with the Scripture, and let it shape your response to God.

After reading Psalm 51:1-12, allow a brief moment of silence, then close with a short prayer asking God to create clean hearts, restore joy, and help everyone walk in full obedience.