Small Group Discussion Guide

"Continuing Steadfastly" — Pastor Linda Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

Pastor Linda Hufton opened by reflecting on a season of meaningful revival the church had experienced, including extended times of worship, repentance, and celebration, and she challenged the congregation not to let those experiences fade into memory alone. She emphasized that genuine spiritual growth requires a personal, daily decision to remain grounded in the Word of God and the foundational doctrines of Christ. Pastor Linda made clear that staying steadfast is not a passive condition but an active, ongoing commitment that each believer must make before trials arise.

2. KEY SCRIPTURE

Colossians 1:21-23

"And you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in his sight — if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister."

3. ICE BREAKER

What is one home improvement project, hobby, or personal goal you started with great enthusiasm but found much harder to maintain over time, and what made it difficult to keep going?

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Question 1 Pastor Linda described the word "grounded" as laying a foundation and "steadfast" as sitting on that foundation and refusing to move. Thinking about your own faith, what does your current foundation actually look like? What has been laid in place, and where might there be gaps that need attention?

Question 2 Pastor Linda referenced 2 John 8, which warns believers not to lose what they have worked for, so that they may receive a full reward. She pointed out that John was writing to experienced believers who genuinely had something to lose. What do you think are the most common ways believers quietly drift from where they once were, and how do those drifts usually begin?

Question 3 Pastor Linda used a vivid illustration comparing Christian entertainment and media consumption to eating sweets before a meal, noting that too many sweets ruin the appetite for real nourishment. How does what you regularly consume, whether entertainment, social media, or other content, affect your hunger for Scripture? What adjustments, if any, have you noticed make a real difference?

Question 4 She referenced Ezekiel 33:31-32, where God tells Ezekiel that the people enjoy hearing his words as they would enjoy a pleasant song, but then go home and do not act on what they heard. Where do you find it hardest to move from hearing or singing truth to actually living it out during an ordinary week? What tends to close that gap for you?

Question 5 Pastor Linda drew on Isaiah 55:10-11 to describe the Word of God as rain that produces differently depending on what it falls on. She noted that the same rain can produce useful fruit or a thorn bush, depending on the condition of the heart. What does it look like practically to prepare your heart so the Word actually takes root and produces something useful?

Question 6 Pastor Linda said that offense can alter a person's spiritual trajectory faster than almost anything else, and she encouraged the group to make a firm decision before trials arrive that they will never walk away from God or the body of Christ. Has there been a time when a decision you made in advance protected you during a difficult season? What helped you hold to that commitment?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

This week, choose one specific time each day, morning, afternoon, or evening, to read or study Scripture for at least fifteen minutes with a notebook nearby. Rather than simply reading through a passage, pick one verse or phrase that stands out and write down what it means, how it applies to a current situation, and one concrete way to act on it before the day ends. At the next group meeting, come prepared to share one thing that surprised you or shifted something in your thinking during that time.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that each group member would develop or renew a genuine, growing hunger for the Word of God, and that it would feel less like a discipline to endure and more like nourishment they genuinely desire.

• Pray for the group to remain grounded and steadfast in the days following seasons of revival or spiritual renewal, guarding against the drift toward sluggishness that Pastor Linda warned about.

• Pray that any offense, strife, or unforgiveness currently present in group members' homes, friendships, or church relationships would be honestly named and surrendered, so that spiritual trajectory is not quietly altered without anyone noticing.

7. MEMORY VERSE

2 John 8

"Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward."