Thursday Service “Jesus, The Only Gift That Really Matters For Eternal Life”. Dec 18th, 2025

·54 min·5 clips

Why does the speaker claim that amidst all the holiday gift-giving, only one gift truly matters for eternal life?

The episode is a Christian sermon delivered during a Thursday evening service at Calvary Chapel Kaneohe. The speaker begins by greeting the congregation and noting the approaching Christmas celebration. He introduces the message's title, 'The Only Gift That Matters for Eternal Life,' and critiques how Christmas has become commercialized, often sidelining Jesus. The core argument is that Jesus is the one gift that cannot be exchanged or taken away, offering eternal life. The speaker then transitions to discussing spiritual gifts given to believers. He references Romans 12:4-10, listing gifts like prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, and showing kindness. The focus shifts to Ephesians 4:11, where Paul outlines gifts Christ gave to the church: apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. The speaker delves into each role. For apostles, he explains the term means 'one sent out,' notes the original twelve apostles, and discusses the debate over Paul versus Matthias. He states that Calvary Kaneohe does not recognize modern-day apostles as equal to biblical ones. For prophets, he cites Old Testament examples like Jeremiah and New Testament figures like Agabus, warning against false prophets today. For evangelists, he mentions Billy Graham and Greg Laurie as examples, encouraging listeners to share the gospel. For pastor-teachers, he draws an extended analogy to shepherds, detailing their duties of guidance, protection, and care, and relates this to pastoral responsibilities. The speaker shares personal anecdotes about serving at Calvary Kaneohe for 20 years, including experiences with false teachers and volunteers. He emphasizes the importance of correct biblical teaching, citing the Bereans in Acts 17 who verified Paul's teachings. The message encourages spiritual maturity through studying Scripture to avoid being deceived by false doctrines. The speaker references Paul's 'thorn in the flesh' from 2 Corinthians 12 to illustrate boasting in weakness. He returns to the Christmas theme, lamenting how society says 'Happy Holidays' instead of 'Merry Christmas.' The sermon concludes with a call to salvation, quoting John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:10, and leads a prayer for those wanting to accept Jesus. A final prayer includes requests for healing for Pastor J.D. Farag's wife Kelly and strength for the Farag family.

As heard by us

A Christmas sermon moves from eternal life to pastoral responsibility and prayer for Kelly, Pastor J.D., and the Farag family.

Christmas gift-giving provides the service's starting point, with the sermon moving from seasonal custom to Jesus as the gift that matters for eternal life.

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Why you'd press play

You get a Christmas sermon that treats eternal life as the one gift worth receiving.

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