RENEW YOUR MIND

Small Group Discussion Guide

Based on the sermon by Pastor Chris Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

Pastor Chris Hufton preached a follow-up to the previous week's message on living your best life, challenging the congregation that a renewed mind is the essential foundation for stepping into everything God has for them. He drew on personal testimonies about his family, career, physical healing, and a new home to illustrate that God-given vision requires both declaration and genuine belief, not just wishful thinking. He reminded the group that life in a fallen world will bring setbacks, but that renewing the mind through God's Word is what separates those who press forward from those who stay stuck.

2. KEY SCRIPTURE

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."

3. ICE BREAKER

What is one habit, routine, or ritual you have tried to build in your life that took longer than you expected to actually stick?

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Pastor Chris pointed out that we tend to take personal credit when things go well and assign blame outward when things go wrong. Where have you seen this pattern show up in your own life, and what does it look like to break it?

2. He described the story of Joseph as a picture of someone whose circumstances were deeply unfair, yet whose thinking never became defined by those circumstances. What do you think made it possible for Joseph to keep pressing forward, and what does that challenge you to hold onto in your own situation?

3. Pastor Chris drew a distinction between declaring something in faith with the intention of growing to believe it, versus declaring something while privately expecting it to fail. How honest are you currently being with God about the gap between what you say and what you actually believe?

4. He warned that social media, news cycles, and the constant flow of negative information are actively working to reshape the way we think, often without us realizing it. What inputs in your daily life are quietly pulling your thinking away from what God says is true, and how aware have you been of their effect?

5. Pastor Chris referenced 2 Corinthians 10:5 and the idea of taking rebellious thoughts captive. What is a specific thought pattern that keeps reasserting itself in your life that you have not yet fully brought under the obedience of Christ?

6. He shared that some of his greatest blessings came disguised as hard work, uncertainty, or situations that did not look like a blessing at first glance. How has God used something uncomfortable or unexpected in your life to build a skill, a character quality, or an opportunity you would not otherwise have had?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

This week, identify one area of your life where your self-talk has been shaped more by fear, past disappointment, or outside voices than by what Scripture actually says. Find one specific verse that speaks directly to that area, write it on a card or in your phone, and read it out loud every morning and every evening for the next seven days. Come back to the group next week prepared to share what that verse is and what you noticed as you practiced it.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that each group member would have the courage to honestly identify the thought patterns and mental strongholds that are keeping them from stepping into the life God has for them.

• Pray for patience and sustained faith in areas where the vision has not yet come to pass, that the group would resist discouragement when God's timing does not match their own expectations.

• Pray for protection over the minds of everyone in the group from the noise, fear, and division that come through the media and cultural voices constantly competing for their attention and belief.

7. MEMORY VERSE

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."