Rewind — the teaching platform built on your church’s own preaching

The big idea

Spiritual gifts are God-given abilities given to us, not for us — the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and gives each one a gift meant to serve the church, not just ourselves.

The church is not a place to be a consumer — it's the gathering of people Jesus said not even the gates of hell could overcome. When the Holy Spirit came to indwell every believer, He brought each one a gift, and that gift was never meant for self, but to strengthen and serve the whole body.

Point 1 of 6

Jesus built His ecclesia at Caesarea Philippi, a pagan stronghold, promising the gates of hell would never overcome it

Pastor Pat retells the journey of Jesus and the twelve disciples 25 miles north of the Sea of Galilee to Caesarea Philippi, a site with a temple to the false god Pan built over a cave known as the Gates of Hades. There, after Peter's confession, Jesus declares He will build His church on this rock, a statement Pastor Pat argues was deliberately spoken in the shadow of that pagan gate.

Point 2 of 6

The word 'church' actually means 'ecclesia' — a gathering of people called out, not a building or a show to watch

Pastor Pat explains that Jesus never used the English word 'church' but two Greek words meaning a gathering of people called out, and that this meaning carries through every New Testament letter. He warns that our consumer culture has turned church into something we merely watch rather than a movement we belong to.

spiritual gifts are God given abilities gifted to us, not for us

— Pastor Pat McCalla

Point 3 of 6

Paul writes to a messy, divided Corinthian church to teach them about spiritual gifts

Pastor Pat gives background on 1 Corinthians, describing a church fighting over favorite preachers, suing each other, and tolerating sexual immorality. Paul turns to spiritual gifts in chapter 12 specifically to draw this divided group toward unity.

Point 4 of 6

There are many different gifts but one Spirit, one Lord, one God who gives them all

Working through 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Pastor Pat highlights Paul's repeated refrain of different gifts flowing from the same source, comparing it to a teaching technique of repetition to drive home the point that diversity of gifts comes from the unity of God.

Point 5 of 6

The body illustration shows every gift is necessary, even the ones nobody praises

Pastor Pat unpacks Paul's illustration of the human body, using his own injured, non-bending thumb as an example of an overlooked part that is still essential, and the Pixar film Monsters, Inc. to picture how strange a body of only one part would be. He notes how we praise eyes but never intestines, yet both matter deeply.

A story from life

Pastor Pat broke his thumb in a basketball game, had surgery, and it no longer bends fully — used to illustrate how an overlooked body part is missed when it does not function

Illustration

Pixar's Monsters Inc. character Mike Wazowski — a single giant eyeball with limbs — used to illustrate how absurd a body made of only one part would be

Point 6 of 6

Four principles of spiritual gifts: God decides, gifts are given to be given, we need each other, and it's a divine design with purpose

Pastor Pat summarizes the passage into four takeaways: God alone assigns which gift each person receives, gifts exist to serve others rather than ourselves (illustrated with a hypothetical hundred-dollar bill given to bless someone else), no one gets every gift because we are meant to be interdependent, and each person's gift is a unique 'fingerprint' placed intentionally by God for their specific church, family, and workplace.

Your gift is not about you, it's about me. My gift is not about me, it's about you

— Pastor Pat McCalla

It was no accident what you got. It was no accident what I got

— Pastor Pat McCalla

You need to know because we need you

— Pastor Pat McCalla

Don't waste that gift

— Pastor Pat McCalla

Illustration

Someone giving a $100 bill to be passed on to bless others, only to find it was spent on a personal steak dinner — illustrates that a gift entrusted for others is misused when kept for oneself

Take it into your week

Pastor Pat's challenge is to stop being a spectator and go discover the specific gift God gave you to serve this gathering of people.

Application

Take the spiritual gifts assessment
Pastor Pat points to a link on screen for a free spiritual gifts assessment and challenges anyone who can't name their gift to go take it and find out what it is.
Stop treating church like a consumer product
Recognize that showing up to watch and then leaving misses the point; you are part of the gathering of people, not a spectator at a show.
Use your gift to serve others, not yourself
Remember your gift was given to help this local church, your family, and your workplace, not to be spent only on yourself.
Value the gifts of others, even unseen ones
Stop ranking gifts as more or less important, and recognize that the quiet, behind-the-scenes gifts are as essential as the ones everyone praises.

Keep going

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