REIGNING IN LIFE OVER SIN

A Small Group Discussion Guide Based on a Message by Pastor Mirek Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

In this message, I walked us through what it truly means to be dead to sin and alive to God — not just as a theological idea, but as a daily, lived reality. I challenged us to understand that because our old man died with Christ and we've been raised with Him, we now have something powerful we didn't have before: the genuine power to choose. The key to reigning in life over sin comes down to what we set our minds on, what we present ourselves to, and whether we're living from our spirit or surrendering to our flesh.

2. KEY SCRIPTURE

Romans 8:5-6 (NKJV)

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace."

3. ICE BREAKER

Think of a time you walked away from something — a movie, a conversation, a situation — because it just didn't feel right. What made you get up and leave, and how did you feel afterward?

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Getting into the Word I said in my message that sin is not part of normal Christian life — that a mature believer increasingly wants only to please God and fulfill His call. Does that idea challenge you, encourage you, or maybe both? What does "normal Christian life" actually look like to you on an ordinary Tuesday?

2. Digging Deeper Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3 and 4:7 together as a group: - "This is the will of God, your sanctification." (v.3) - "God did not call us to uncleanness, but to holiness." (v.7)

I said that God didn't call us to be weak and wishy-washy. What does being "surrounded by His holiness" — as the Passion Translation puts it — look like in your everyday environment? What makes that harder than it sounds?

3. Getting Honest I kept it real in the message and said that even after fasting and praying, I can come off the mountain and find myself in an argument with my wife within two minutes. Can you relate to that gap between spiritual high moments and real life? What do you do — practically — to get back on track when you step in a "cow pie"?

4. The Power to Choose I talked about how the power of sin has been broken off us, but we've been given something better in its place — the power to choose. Read 1 Corinthians 9:27: "I discipline my body and bring it into subjection." What does it practically look like to tell your flesh "no" in your specific situation — whether that's anger, jealousy, what you watch, or who you spend time with?

5. Who You Hang With I shared that I made a deliberate decision to stop hanging around people — even pastor friends — who were constantly negative or running other people down, because I want to protect my spirit. How do you draw that line in your own life between being in the world to reach people and being of the world to your own spiritual harm? Where does your group feel that tension most?

6. Presenting Yourself to Righteousness I talked about how we "present ourselves" either to sin or to righteousness by the environments we enter, the things we consume, and the ways we stay busy for God. I asked: if your life is genuinely full of helping people, blessing people, and sharing the gospel — when do you actually have time for nonsense? What's one area where you feel you're consistently presenting yourself to God, and one area where you know you're still presenting yourself to the wrong thing?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

This week, do one specific thing to "present yourself to righteousness."

Choose something concrete and achievable — sign up to serve in a ministry you've been putting off, reach out to join Pastor Seven's Saturday outreach to the homeless, volunteer for a Sunday morning role like parking or greeting, or commit to teaching or helping in a kids' class just once. Whatever it is, tell someone in your group what you're going to do before you leave tonight, and text them when you've done it by next Sunday.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray for spiritual awareness — that each person in the group would grow increasingly sensitive to the difference between what feeds their spirit and what feeds their flesh, and have the courage to act on that discernment quickly.

• Pray for freedom from habitual sin — that wherever any group member has been stuck in a cycle they feel powerless to break, the Holy Spirit would make real to them the truth that the power of sin has already been broken, and that they would walk in that freedom this week.

• Pray for a hunger to be set apart — that God would stir up in each of us a genuine desire not for a comfortable, compromise-filled faith, but for a life truly surrendered to His call and His holiness.

7. MEMORY VERSE

1 Thessalonians 4:7 (Passion Translation)

"God's call on our lives is not to a life of compromise and perversion, but to be surrounded by his holiness."

Leader's Note: Don't feel pressure to get through every question. Let the conversation breathe. The goal isn't to cover material — it's to help people leave with one truth rooted deeper and one step they're actually going to take. You've got this!