Small Group Discussion Guide

"Established in Truth: Grace for The Journey"

A Teaching by Pastor Mirek Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

Pastor Mirek Hufton opened from Hebrews 13:8-9 and challenged the congregation with a central question: are we truly established in the grace of God, or are we quietly grinding through life on our own strength? He unpacked grace not as a vague theological idea but as God's real, practical empowerment available for every area of life — parenting, marriage, work, ministry, and relationships. He reminded us that wherever we see frustration, anxiety, and burnout taking hold, those are signs we have drifted from tapping into the grace that God has freely made available through Jesus Christ.

2. KEY SCRIPTURE

Hebrews 13:8-9 (NKJV)

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried away with various and strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be established by grace."

3. ICE BREAKER

Think of one area of your life where you seem to have a natural ease and energy that others might find exhausting or difficult. What is it, and have you ever thought of that as a gift rather than just a personality trait?

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Starting with the basics Pastor Mirek described grace as God's empowerment — His ability given to us, unearned and undeserved, to do what we are called to do. How does that definition of grace differ from the way you may have heard grace described before? Does it change anything about how you think of your daily life?

2. Digging into the text In John 1:16, the Amplified Bible renders the phrase "grace for grace" as "one grace after another, favor upon favor, gift heaped upon gift." What does it mean to you personally that grace is not a one-time deposit but a continuous, layered supply? Can you think of a season in your life when you experienced that kind of unfolding provision?

3. Honest reflection Pastor Mirek pointed out that frustration, anxiety, and worry are signals that we have stopped tapping into grace and started relying on our own effort. Without going into anything too personal, can the group identify any common situations — at work, at home, in relationships — where people tend to slip into that pattern without realizing it? What does it feel like when that happens?

4. The balance of effort and grace He was careful to say that grace does not mean passivity. He referenced Ephesians 3:7, where Paul speaks of the "effective working" of God's power, and he echoed Paul's words from 1 Corinthians 15 that he "labored more abundantly than them all, yet not I, but the grace of God." How do you personally navigate the tension between working hard and trusting God? Where does the line sit for you between striving and resting in grace?

5. Personal calling and grace Pastor Mirek made the observation that if something consistently feels like a grinding strain with no sense of flow or favor, it may be worth asking whether you are in the right place or assignment. At the same time, he celebrated the idea that God will take what you have been through and put His grace on it for the next task. How has your own history — including the difficult parts — shaped the unique grace you carry today?

6. Receiving versus wasting grace Drawing from Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 6 about not receiving the grace of God in vain, Pastor Mirek challenged the group to consider whether grace is being actively received or quietly ignored. What practical habits or mindsets might help someone stay consistently connected to the grace God has already made available, rather than drifting back into self-reliance?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

Choose one specific area of your life this week — a relationship, a work situation, a personal struggle, or a ministry responsibility — where you have been operating primarily out of your own effort and strength. Before you begin each day this week, take two or three minutes to pause, name that area out loud in prayer, and ask God specifically for His grace and empowerment for that task. At the end of the week, write down one way you noticed a difference in your attitude, your energy, or the outcome. Come ready to share briefly with the group at the next meeting.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that each group member would develop a genuine sensitivity to the difference between striving in their own strength and resting in the empowerment that God supplies, and that they would grow quicker at recognizing when they have slipped back into self-reliance.

• Pray for anyone in the group facing a specific assignment, relationship, or season that feels beyond their natural capacity — that they would experience a tangible release of grace for that situation in the coming week.

• Pray that the whole church community would be established — rooted, settled, and immovable — in the grace that came through Jesus Christ, just as Hebrews 13:9 instructs, and that no strange or discouraging doctrine would pull them away from that foundation.

7. MEMORY VERSE

John 1:16 (NKJV)

"And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace."

Leader's Note: This guide is designed to take approximately 60 to 75 minutes. Feel free to choose three or four discussion questions that feel most relevant to where your group is right now rather than working through all six. The goal is genuine, unhurried conversation — not covering every question.