Small Group Discussion Guide

"Right Being, Right Doing" — Pastor Mirek Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

Pastor Mirek Hufton opened with a vision of Jesus as the perfect standard — fully sinless, fully powerful, and fully surrendered to the Father — and called the congregation to pursue that same likeness out of genuine love for God, not religious duty. He drew a vital distinction between "right being," the righteous identity every believer receives the moment they are born again, and "right doing," the holy conduct that flows naturally from that identity when it is truly believed and embraced. He challenged the group to reckon — to count as absolutely true — that the old sinful nature was buried with Christ, and that the same resurrection power now available to every believer is more than sufficient to produce a life free from the mastery of sin.

2. KEY SCRIPTURE

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NKJV)

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

3. ICE BREAKER

Think of someone you admired so much growing up that you found yourself copying the way they talked, dressed, or carried themselves. Who was it, and what was one thing you picked up from them?

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Question 1 — Understanding Identity Pastor Mirek emphasized that every born-again believer has "right being" — a righteous standing before God that is not earned but received. In your own words, what is the difference between trying to earn righteousness through behavior and receiving it as a gift? Why does that difference matter in everyday life?

Question 2 — The Role of Love Pastor Mirek was clear that the motivation for holy living should never be fear or legalism, but love for Jesus. He said something along the lines of: if Jesus showed up in the middle of your worst moment, his love would melt you far more effectively than a lecture ever could. How does knowing you are deeply loved actually change the way you respond to temptation? Can the group think of a real example of love being a stronger motivator than a rule?

Question 3 — Reckoning It True Drawing from Romans 6, Pastor Mirek introduced the idea of "reckoning" — choosing to count as true what God says about you even when your feelings are telling a completely different story. What makes that so difficult in practice? What habits or disciplines might help someone consistently bring their feelings into line with what the Word declares?

Question 4 — Sins of Omission Pastor Mirek pointed to James 4:17 and pressed the group to consider not only sins of commission — doing what is wrong — but sins of omission — failing to do what is right. He asked directly what each person is doing to reach others, serve the poor, and invest in the mission of God. Where do you sense the greatest gap between what you know you should be doing and what you are currently doing? What is one honest reason that gap exists?

Question 5 — The Connection Between Holiness and Power Pastor Mirek made a straightforward claim: the more sin is allowed to remain unchallenged in a believer's life, the less of God's anointing and presence that person experiences. Do you agree with that connection? Have you ever noticed a season in your own life where the pursuit of holiness seemed to open up a greater awareness of God's presence? What did that look like?

Question 6 — Confession and Accountability Pastor Mirek encouraged bringing hidden struggles into the light with someone who is trustworthy, noting that confession breaks the power that secrecy gives to sin. What makes genuine accountability relationships so rare in the church today? What would need to be true of a community for people to feel genuinely safe enough to be honest?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

Before next week's meeting, each group member should identify one specific area — either a sin of commission they have been excusing or a sin of omission they have been avoiding — and write it down privately. Then, using the language Pastor Mirek drew from Romans 6, they should speak aloud at least once each day this week a simple declaration of dominion over that area, such as: "This does not master me. I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." At the next meeting, without anyone being required to share the specific struggle, the group will discuss what that daily practice felt like and whether anything shifted.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that each group member would receive a deep, settled revelation of their "right being" in Christ — that righteousness is not something they are working toward but something they have already been given, and that this truth would move from their head into their daily experience.

• Pray for the courage and humility required for genuine repentance — that the group would grow in a willingness to call sin what it is, to stop making excuses, and to bring hidden areas into the light rather than managing them privately.

• Pray that love for Jesus would become the primary engine driving each person's pursuit of holiness — that obligation and fear would give way to the kind of wholehearted devotion that makes saying no to sin feel less like a sacrifice and more like the most natural thing in the world.

7. MEMORY VERSE

Romans 6:11 (NKJV)

"Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Leader Note: This guide is designed to create honest, grace-filled conversation. Resist the urge to fill every silence. Some of the best moments in a small group happen when a question lands and people need a moment to think before they speak.