Grace Group Guide — When Pride Blocks the Path
Philippians 2:1-13 (CEB) · Fresh Start: When Life Takes an Unexpected Turn · Week 6 · May 17, 2026 · Native American Ministries Sunday
Paul holds up an ancient Christian hymn about Christ, who emptied himself into the form of a slave, and invites us into the same downward shape. The path down is the path forward.
New to Grace Groups? Grace Groups are small communities of 6 to 8 people who meet weekly to grow deeper in faith and support each other. They’re a place to be honest about your faith journey and watch over each other in love, not a Bible study, not a therapy group, not a place to fix each other’s problems. The format is simple, the conversation is real, and over time, these become the people who know your story. Every meeting follows the same five-part rhythm below.
1. Center
Open with prayer or a moment of silence. Take a breath. Let the week fall away.
God who emptied yourself for love, gather us around your table this hour. Open our clenched hands. Show us where pride has quietly blocked the path. Fill what we release with your purpose. We pray in the name of Jesus, whose downward path became the way of life. Amen.
2. Soul Tending
Check in with where you are spiritually, not where you think you should be. These five areas can help you find your way into the conversation. Pick the one or two that feel most alive, or most stuck, right now.
Prayers — How is your prayer life? What are you reading or listening to?
Presence — How has worship or being with other Christians shaped your week?
Gifts — Where are you giving your time, money, or energy?
Service — Where are you serving? What does that look like right now?
Witness — Where have you shared your faith or lived it out loud?
This week’s scripture describes pride as a whisper that disguises itself as competence. As you check in, consider:
Where are you feeling stretched thin or stirred up this week, and what is underneath that feeling?
Where have you noticed the whisper of pride recently, perhaps disguised as competence, standards, or knowing better?
What place in your life right now feels like a closed door, and what might open if you loosened your grip?
3. God Sightings
Share something from this week where you noticed God moving, in your life, in someone else’s, or in the world around you. Big or small, it counts.
Where have you seen someone practice kenosis this week, stepping back so another could step forward?
When was the last time someone asked you, “What do you see?” and actually listened? How did that feel?
Where is God inviting you to receive leadership from a person or community you usually overlook?
4. Growing in Grace
Name something you’re carrying, a decision, a fear, a next step you’ve been avoiding. The group isn’t here to fix it. Just to hear it, sit with you in it, and pray.
Service is our focus this week. Name one relationship or role where you are protecting your position instead of serving. What is one concrete step downward this week?
Who is someone you could ask for help or input that your pride has kept you from approaching?
On Native American Ministries Sunday, how might God be inviting you, individually or as a group, to practice justice as kenosis rather than charity from above?
5. Close
Pray for each other before you leave.
Each person shares one prayer need in a sentence. Then someone in the group prays for them out loud. Keep it simple: “God, I pray for [name]...” and one or two sentences is plenty.
Open your hands this week. The path down is the path forward.