Small Group Discussion Guide

"Developing A Heart After God, Part 2" Pastor Mirek Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

Pastor Mirek Hufton continued the series on developing a heart after God by grounding the message in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, the reminder that believers are not their own but have been bought with a price. He challenged the congregation to pursue a consecrated life — one that is genuinely set apart for God — by asking the daily question, "What will please God?" He drew from personal stories, Scripture, and the example of Jesus Himself to show that a heart after God is not a feeling but a consistent, yielded choice to obey God even when it goes against our own desires.

2. KEY SCRIPTURE

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

3. ICE BREAKER

Think of a time you did something that was genuinely inconvenient or uncomfortable for someone else's benefit — and it turned out to be worth it. What made you decide to do it, and how did it feel afterward?

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Pastor Mirek pointed out that we live in a culture increasingly shaped by the idea that life is about pleasing ourselves, and that this mindset has crept into the church. Where do you notice that tension most in your own daily life — the pull between what pleases you and what pleases God?

2. He shared that Jesus said in John 8:29, "I always do those things that please Him," and that pleasing God is tied to obedience, service, and even staying silent when we want to speak. What does "pleasing God" look like in the ordinary, practical moments of your week — not just in church settings?

3. Pastor Mirek described the narrow way of Matthew 7 as the path that often requires doing what we do not naturally want to do, and he shared how obeying God in a situation he resisted — staying in the university dormitory instead of moving to an apartment — became one of the most fruitful seasons of his life. Has there been a time when obeying God cost you something in the short term but proved worthwhile later? What did that experience teach you about trust?

4. He drew from 2 Corinthians 7:1, which calls believers to cleanse themselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit and to perfect holiness in the fear of God, and he connected this directly to consistent engagement with the Word of God. What honest obstacles keep your group members from spending consistent time in Scripture, and what has helped in seasons when that discipline was stronger?

5. Pastor Mirek referenced Proverbs 1:23, where God promises to pour out His Spirit and make His words known to those who turn at His rebuke. He described this as a chain reaction — turning, anointing, then revelation. How does your group understand the connection between receiving correction (from God, Scripture, or trusted people) and experiencing spiritual growth? Is that a welcome or uncomfortable part of the Christian life for you personally?

6. He closed with Solomon's conclusion in Ecclesiastes 12 — that the whole purpose of life is to fear God and keep His commandments — and he challenged the group to see their destiny as something that cannot be fully reached without a consecrated, yielded heart. What would it look like for you, in your specific season of life right now, to more fully say, "I am not my own"?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

This week, identify one specific area of your daily routine where you know your choices tend to please yourself more than God — whether that is what you watch, how you speak, how you spend your time, or how you treat a particular person. Choose one concrete adjustment you can make every day this week, and write it down somewhere you will see it each morning. Come back next week ready to share honestly what that experience was like.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that each group member would develop a genuine, daily hunger to please God rather than themselves, and that the Holy Spirit would make that desire stronger than the pull of self-interest.

• Pray for a renewed commitment to the Word of God within the group — that Scripture would not feel like an obligation but like the cleansing, life-giving presence that Pastor Mirek described, washing away the buildup of worldliness that accumulates in everyday life.

• Pray specifically that each person would have the courage to receive correction — from God, from Scripture, or from a trusted friend — without pride or resistance, and that the promise of Proverbs 1:23 would be fulfilled: that turning at God's rebuke would open the door to a fresh outpouring of His Spirit.

7. MEMORY VERSE

1 Thessalonians 4:1 (NKJV)

"Furthermore then we urge you, brethren, and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you actually do walk, that you excel still more."