PENTECOSTAL POWER

A Small Group Discussion Guide

World Harvest Church | Pastor Mirek Hufton

1. SERMON RECAP

Pastor Mirek Hufton preached from Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:4–8 on the theme of Pentecostal power, reminding the congregation that the baptism of the Holy Spirit was never meant to be merely a one-time experience marked by speaking in tongues, but a lifestyle of ongoing, Spirit-saturated strength. He challenged believers to shift their focus from the initial sign of the Spirit's coming to the intended effect: dunamis power to overcome adversity, crush the works of darkness, and live a life of genuine victory. He called the church to cultivate a strong spirit through prayer, hunger for God, and bold proclamation of the gospel.

2. KEY SCRIPTURES

Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you. But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."

John 16:7 "It is to your advantage that I go away, because if I don't go away, I will not be able to send the Holy Spirit. And if I don't send the Holy Spirit, then He won't be able to come. But when He comes, He will do a work for you and in you to cause you to overcome in every arena of life."

3. ICE BREAKER

Think of a time when you had to do something that felt completely beyond your own ability, maybe a hard conversation, a scary decision, or a physical challenge. What got you through it? Share briefly with the group.

4. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Pastor Mirek pointed out that the disciples were looking for political and military power, but Jesus was offering something entirely different. What kind of power do people around us, and perhaps we ourselves, tend to chase after? How does God's dunamis power differ from the kinds of power the world values?

2. Pastor Mirek drew a distinction between focusing on the initial sign of the Spirit's presence and focusing on the intended effect, which is power to overcome. Has your own understanding of being filled with the Spirit been more focused on the experience itself or on the ongoing fruit of that experience? What does a genuinely Spirit-empowered life actually look like in practice?

3. He described the difference between a strong spirit and a weak spirit, noting that weak-spirited believers are easily discouraged, fearful, and prone to being offended, while strong-spirited believers push through adversity and maintain their joy. Honestly, which description feels closer to where you are right now? What do you think contributes most to spiritual weakness in a believer's life?

4. Pastor Mirek said that staying filled with the Spirit is a hunger issue, not a one-time event, and that a yielded, hungry heart is the key to ongoing power. What does it look like practically to stay hungry for God? What habits, attitudes, or influences tend to dull that hunger over time?

5. He reminded the congregation that the gospel is not the gospel until it is proclaimed, and he pointed to boldness in witness as one of the clearest signs that the Spirit's power is genuinely at work. Where in your everyday life, your neighborhood, workplace, school, or family, does fear or the desire to avoid conflict most often cause you to stay silent about your faith? What would change if you truly believed the power of God was on your words?

6. Pastor Mirek shared that during some of the most intense seasons of personal and church-wide adversity, he responded by increasing his prayer, pressing deeper into the Spirit, and refusing to allow discouragement to take root. What is your instinctive response when adversity hits hard? How might a consistent prayer life and a deliberately cultivated strong spirit change that response over time?

5. APPLICATION CHALLENGE

This week, identify one specific situation in your life where you have been responding from a place of fear, discouragement, or spiritual weakness rather than from the power and boldness the Spirit provides. Choose one concrete action, whether that is initiating a gospel conversation you have been avoiding, praying in the Spirit for an extended period each morning, or refusing to rehearse a negative narrative that has kept you feeling defeated, and do it before the group meets again. Come prepared to share what happened.

6. PRAYER POINTS

• Pray that every member of the group would move from merely knowing about the Holy Spirit's power to actively walking in it, experiencing genuine victory over the areas of life where defeat has felt normal.

• Pray for boldness to proclaim the gospel without apology in the specific places and relationships where silence has become a habit, trusting that the message of the cross is truly the power of God to those who believe.

• Pray for strong spirits within the congregation, that discouragement, fear, and a weak, easily-offended spirit would be replaced by the joy, faith, and resilience that characterize a life fully saturated with God's presence.

7. MEMORY VERSE

Acts 1:8 "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth."

Prepared for small group use at World Harvest Church. Please feel free to adapt the questions to the needs and pace of your group.