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Looking Unto Jesus
Where you fix your gaze determines everything about your faith journey. Drawing from Hebrews 12, Pastor Mirek Hufton called the congregation to run their faith race with singular focus, eyes locked on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. The message centered on a simple but urgent truth: you cannot look in two directions simultaneously. Just as texting while driving splits your attention dangerously, absorbing the world's noise, social media, fear, political chaos, pulls our eyes away from Jesus and causes us to sink. Pastor Hufton used Peter walking on water as the sermon's defining illustration. Peter defied gravity while his gaze was fixed on Christ. The moment he looked at the boisterous waves, he began to drown. The lesson was clear: our circumstances aren't the real problem, the condition of our faith is. From his personal testimony of being told he had 90 days to live and choosing a healing conference over immediate treatment, Pastor Hufton demonstrated that faith-filled living isn't theoretical, it's life or death. The call: Fill your life with the Word, pursue Jesus daily, and run hard toward the finish line, where He is waiting.
Small Group Guide
Small Group Discussion Guide
"Looking Unto Jesus" — Pastor Mirek Hufton
1. SERMON RECAP
In this message, I reminded us that we are each running a faith race — and the key to running it well is keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. I walked us through how Jesus is found on every page of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, showing us just how central and glorious he really is. The core challenge I left us with is this: stop looking at the waves, stop looking at the world, and look away to Jesus — because the amount of faith in your heart determines how you rise above every circumstance you face.
2. KEY SCRIPTURE
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
3. ICE BREAKER
Have you ever watched a race — in person, on TV, or even participated in one yourself? What do you remember most about it, and did anyone lose focus at the wrong moment?
4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Getting into the text In Hebrews 12:1-2, we're told to run with endurance while looking unto Jesus. In your own words, what do you think it means to look away to Jesus in your daily life? What makes that so hard to do consistently?
2. Digging a little deeper I talked about Peter walking on water in Matthew 14 — he did fine until he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the boisterous waves. Can you think of a time in your own life when your "waves" — a difficult situation, scary news, or an overwhelming season — pulled your focus away from Jesus? What happened, and what brought your eyes back?
3. Making it personal I shared that Jesus is found throughout every single book of the Bible — from the seed of a woman in Genesis all the way to the King of Kings in Revelation. Which of those descriptions of Jesus that I shared meant the most to you personally, and why does that particular picture of him speak to your heart right now?
4. Honest conversation I said something pretty direct in the sermon: "It's not the circumstances we face that's the issue — it's the faith in your heart." That's a challenging thought. Do you agree? Is there a danger in that statement being misunderstood or misapplied? How do we hold onto that truth without dismissing the very real pain people experience?
5. Faith and the Word Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. I challenged us to fill our lives with faith — through reading Scripture, studying, praying, and surrounding ourselves with faith-building voices. On an honest scale of 1 to 10, how intentional are you right now about building your faith daily? What one thing is most getting in the way?
6. Looking ahead together I said the goal of the Christian life is to have more of Jesus tomorrow than you had today — growing in faith, being filled with his Spirit, and running toward him as the finish line. As a group, what does it look like practically for you to run together rather than alone? How can this small group help each other keep their eyes on Jesus this week?
5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE
Choose one 10-minute window every morning this week — before you check your phone, scroll the news, or open social media — and spend it speaking directly to Jesus out loud. You can pray, read one passage of Scripture, or simply say, "Jesus, I want more of you today than I had yesterday." Keep a simple note on your phone each day rating how it went (1-5 stars). Bring your notes back to the group next week and share what shifted — or what made it harder than you expected.
6. PRAYER POINTS
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Pray for focused faith — Ask God to help each person in the group identify the specific "waves" that most easily pull their eyes off Jesus, and to give them a breakthrough moment of refocused trust this week.
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Pray for a hunger for the Word — Ask the Holy Spirit to create a genuine appetite in every group member to get into Scripture daily, so that faith rises naturally from the inside out, just as Romans 10:17 promises.
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Pray for anyone in the group facing a "90-day diagnosis" moment — Whether it's a health crisis, a financial pressure, a broken relationship, or a fear about the future, lift up anyone who needs to make a bold, faith-filled decision to look to Jesus rather than the circumstances staring them down.
7. MEMORY VERSE
Hebrews 12:2a (NKJV)
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
Leader tip: Don't rush past the ice breaker — sometimes the lightest question opens the deepest conversation. And if Question 4 sparks some pushback, lean into it! That's exactly the kind of honest, real discussion that builds genuine community and lasting faith.
Daily Devotional
Fix Your Eyes on the Finish Line
Hebrews 12:1-2 — "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."
I want you to understand something that changed my life — this faith walk is a race, and Jesus is standing at the finish line. Not a casual stroll. Not a comfortable fast-walk. A full-out run, with everything you have. When I look at my own journey, especially through seasons of illness and uncertainty, I discovered that the moment I fixed my eyes on Jesus — truly fixed them — everything shifted. The Greek phrase "looking unto Jesus" literally means looking *away* to him. You cannot look in two directions at once. You cannot absorb the chaos of this world and simultaneously keep Jesus in your sight. Every morning you wake up, you get to choose your focal point. Choose him. He is your author — your originator — the very source of your faith. Run toward him today with everything you've got.
Jesus, I choose to fix my eyes on you today, not on my circumstances or fears. Help me run this race with purpose and keep you at the center of everything I do. Amen.
He Is Your Source
Romans 10:17 — "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Let me be honest with you — I am who I am because of this book right here. The Bible is not an accessory to your faith, it *is* the source of your faith. Jesus is the author, the originator, the spring from which all faith flows. But faith doesn't grow in a vacuum. Romans 10:17 makes it plain: faith comes from the Word. That means you have to read it, absorb it, let it get inside you. When I was told I had 90 days to live, I didn't check into a hospital — I checked into the Word of God. I surrounded myself with faith. I filled my driving time, my quiet time, every available moment with what God says, not what the world says. Friend, the more Word you get in you, the more faith rises in you. It's that simple and that powerful.
Lord, give me a hunger for your Word that I've never had before. Let your truth become the loudest voice in my life today. Amen.
Don't Look at the Waves
John 15:7 — "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."
I love the story of Peter walking on water — not because he got it right, but because he shows us exactly what we all do. He stepped out of that boat with real courage. His faith was rising. And for a beautiful moment, he was walking on the impossible. Then he looked at the waves. The Greek word used there for "boisterous" means violently overwhelming — and the moment Peter let those waves fill his vision, he began to drown. Here's what I need you to hear: it was never the storm that was his problem. It was his focus. The same is true for you and me today. Your circumstances are not your biggest challenge — your faith is. When we abide in Jesus, when his words genuinely live inside us, we walk above what our eyes see and our fingers touch. Stay in him.
Jesus, when the waves around me feel overwhelming, remind me to reach for your hand immediately. I choose to abide in you and trust your words over my fears. Amen.
He Is Found on Every Page
Hebrews 12:3 — "Consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls."
I want you to grasp the greatness of who you are running toward. In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of a woman. In Exodus, he's the Passover Lamb. In Psalms, he's our Shepherd. In Isaiah, he's the Prince of Peace. In the Gospels, he's the Son of the Living God. From the very first page to the very last, this entire Bible is the story of Jesus. He is not a side character. He is not a theological concept. He is the living, risen, reigning King who bled for you and rose again. When Hebrews says "consider him," it means stare at him. Study him. Let his person overwhelm you until the things of this world — your worries, your distractions, your disappointments — shrink in comparison. You cannot run this race weary when you are truly beholding how magnificent Jesus is. He is worth everything.
Jesus, I want to see you bigger today than I did yesterday. Overwhelm my heart with who you really are, and let that vision fuel my faith. Amen.
Run With Everything You Have
Hebrews 12:4 — "You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin."
As we close out this week together, I want to leave you with this burning truth: God has a specific race marked out for your life. Heaven knows your story. Your Creator has written it out. But you must choose to run it — fully, fearlessly, with your whole heart. I think about the times I've been tempted to slow down, to make peace with complacency, to let comfort steal my fire. And every single time, the Holy Spirit calls me back to this: run. Not a trot. Not a fast-walk. Run. You haven't given everything yet. Neither have I. There is more faith to build, more ground to take, more of Jesus to know. Don't let the distractions of this world, the pull of possessions, or the noise of culture talk you into settling. You were made for more than surviving. You were made to run — with endurance, with fire, and with your eyes locked on Jesus.
Father, reignite the fire in me today. I don't want to coast — I want to run this race with everything I have, for your glory alone. Amen.