STUDY QUARTER: ENDURING BELIEFS OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH (Dec 2025 - Feb 2026)
Unit I: Our Holy God and the Holy Scriptures
3. Christ our Saviour (lesson 3 of 4)
Daily Bible Meditations by Tiffany Crowder
Sunday, December 14, 2025 — Psalm 110
As a priest from the order of Melchizedek, the only Old Testament example of one man serving as both priest and king, Jesus transcended the Levitical priesthood. Psalm 110 is a royal decree declaring Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father — a place of honor and co-regency. His unique role as both King and priest places glory on God and a divine authority on Jesus beyond the royal family lines in the Bible. Because He will never again die, His reign will never come to an end. He will return in accordance with God’s will and triumph over evil once and for all. This miracle is extraordinary, and His people will willingly follow Him.
Monday, December 15, 2025 — Romans 5:1-11
Through repentance and belief in Jesus we are saved in the eyes of God through Jesus’ work on our behalf, despite our sinful lives. It is an extreme act of love on God’s part to first want us, even in our transgressions, and then to save us while we were still rotting in our sin. This passage highlights the benefits of being declared righteous by God - including reconciliation, access to grace, and a confident hope of sharing in God’s glory. We can praise Him even in the hardest of times because we know our God is with us. While sin brings death and destruction, God brings life and reconciliation. Praise God for His overwhelming, extravagant love.
Tuesday, December 16, 2025 — John 3:14-21
The serpent Jesus referred to was the “fiery serpent” on a pole from Numbers 21. It held no power of its own to heal the people from snake bites. It was an act of faith on behalf of the people to trust in God’s provisions that brought His divine healing. When Jesus died, this was a miracle given to all who receive Him. His love is not limited to a select few. Like Adam and Eve, we usually recognize when we make poor choices; it is why we hide them from others. But when we serve God, our actions can be bold because they match our testimony and are powered by God for His glory.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025 — John 10:9-16
Satan is an inversion of everything God offers. He lies, presenting an alternate gospel that, although inviting on the outside, is rotten at its core. Many shows today are sympathetic to his darkness. They portray demons as misunderstood and Lucifer as someone who offers goodness without God’s hateful wrath. However, Jesus was clear and consistent in His message — He is the only way to the Father. He provides true protection and does not forsake us. We must spend time with God and in His Word so that we recognize the voice of our Shepherd. Then we will not be deceived by the darkness.
Thursday, December 18, 2025 — Isaiah 9:3-7
This prophecy of the Messiah comes with a promise of deliverance that will provide in-creased joy, the end of oppression and warfare, and the establishment of an everlasting King who provides for His people. We can rest in hope and in God’s peace because no matter what we experience on earth, we know the final outcome. When we are angered by the pain of injustice, we can rest on the promise that Jesus will overcome every ounce of darkness. God promises intervention within His perfect timing. May we have faith in His plan and boldness in our witness of the wonderful promises of God.
Friday, December 19, 2025 — Psalm 2
The greatest lie Satan hands to humans is the illusion that God can be overcome in any significant way. Evil seems to run rampant, and it can be alluring for some to think that the darkness is somehow winning over the earth. God laughs at this and reaffirms His sole sovereignty over all creation. He is once again providing an opportunity for the world to turn away from sin by sending the prophets to warn against this foolish rebellion. Even in His anger, He allows repentance and safe harbor for those who submit wholly to Him. It is God alone who can bring true justice and rule. Surrender daily to the victorious reign of our Messiah.
Sabbath, December 20, 2025 — Luke 15:1-7
Jesus was a threat to the prestige the Pharisees had found in amplifying their own glory. While they bragged about knowledge, heaven proudly proclaims love over even one person repenting and coming home. These men had found meaning and stature in their own works. Jesus earnestly seeks the lost and brings glory to the Father. It is remarkable how much Bible knowledge we can have and still fail to understand and recognize the voice of God. Jesus is not interested in our works or how well presented we are on the outside. He is interested in internal transformation and restoring lost sheep to the Father.
Scripture Passages:
Study: Luke 15:3-7; Romans 5:6-10
Background: Lk 15:3-7; Jn 10; Acts 3:1-18; Rom 5:1-11; Phil 2:5-11; 2 Tim 1:9-10
Devotional: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Key Verse:
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:10).
Heart of the Lesson:
People who are without a sense of belonging can wander through life feeling lost and alone. Who can rescue the one who feels lost and alone? The same extravagant love that sends the Shepherd out to rescue the lost lamb (Luke 15) is at work in God’s sending Christ to die so that sinners might be reconciled in their belonging to God (Romans 5).
Questions for Studying the Text:
- What does “belonging” feel like? What contributes to a person feeling like they belong or do not belong? Why do you think belonging is so important to us?
- Who was Jesus speaking to when He told the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1–2)? Why is that important for understanding the parable? How might the different segments of His audience have responded to the imagery of a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to rescue one?
- What does the shepherd’s determination reveal about God’s attitude toward sinners (Luke 15:4–6)? Why did Jesus emphasize the joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7)? What does this teach about God’s priorities? Do you struggle more with be-lieving that God seeks you when you are lost or that He rejoices over your repentance? Why?
- Compare Paul’s contrast between “righteous” and “sinners” in Romans 5:7-8. What point did Paul make about the depth of God’s love? What did “enemies” of God mean (Romans 5:10)? How does reconciliation change our relationship with God (see also 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Colossians 1:21-22)?
- How do Luke 15 and Romans 5 highlight both God’s pursuit of sinners and His costly love? How might your church community embody both the joy of heaven (Luke 15) and the reconciling love of Christ (Romans 5) in how you welcome people?
UNDERSTANDING AND LIVING by Jim McCalip
BACK WHERE YOU BELONG
One of my seminary professors was a missionary in Cuba when Castro took over. He was accused of being a CIA operative and falsely imprisoned. Once, he was transferred to a large cell with about forty men in it. The guards put him in without any instructions. There was nothing to sit on and there were no beds. He felt disoriented, not knowing where to go or where to put his meager belongings. Then an inmate showed him a peg on the wall and said, “This is yours.” Suddenly, he knew where he belonged.
Many people feel like they live in a world where they do not belong. Every human heart longs for belonging. When that belonging is missing, emptiness takes its place. People try to fill it with relationships, careers, hobbies, or distractions — but the ache remains. Scripture tells us why: We were created for relationship with God, and apart from Him we are spiritually lost. This week’s passages paint a breathtaking picture of God’s extravagant pursuit of the lost and His reconciling love that brings us home.
LOST SHEEP OR SEEKING SHEPHARD?
Jesus told a story about a sheep who left the place where he belonged. The sheep found itself apart from the ninety-nine. It strayed from where it belonged. The shepherd sought the sheep diligently until it was found. Then the shepherd brought the sheep back to where it belonged. The heading for this section in my Bible is, “The Parable of the Lost Sheep.” While it is true the sheep was lost, found, and rejoiced over, isn’t the focus of the story really on the shepherd.
It was the shepherd who left the ninety-nine. It was the shepherd who went to find lost one. And it was the shepherd that rejoiced with his friends. And isn’t this what the Good Shepherd does for us—rejoicingly bringing us back to the flock? Isn’t that what He wants for everyone? “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repent-ance” (2 Peter 3:9, ESV). We need to remember that when we feel like we do not belong or are feeling lost, God is the One that brings us back into the fold, back to the 99 where we belong. “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out” (Ezekiel 34:11, ESV).
Remember three key points about God from this story: 1) God notices the one; His love is deeply personal. 2) God takes the initiative; He searches before the sheep knows it is lost. 3) God rejoices over restoration; Heaven celebrates the moment a lost soul returns.
GOD'S LOVE FOR THE UNDESERVING
While Luke 15 shows us God’s pursuit of lost sheep, Romans 5 shows us the price of that reconciliation. Paul did not sugarcoat our condition. Listen to the ways we were lost and apart from God: We were “powerless” to bring ourselves back to God (v.6, NIV). Like my professor, we had no ability to create our own place to belong. We needed someone to show us our peg; We were “ungodly” (v.6), the opposite of God — unholy and unrighteous; We were separated from God by our sins (v.8; also Isaiah 59:2). We were under God’s wrath (v.9; also John 3:18), facing condemnation for eternity. Moreover, we were “enemies” of God (v.10), not only separated but actively rebelling against His will. Have You ever cleaned your house before the cleaning service arrives, so they do not judge you? That is how some people treat God; they think they must clean up first before coming to Him. But Romans 5 tells us that God came into our mess.
God acted to bring us back to where we belong. In fact, He acted to provide our recon-ciliation through Jesus’s death “before the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8, ESV). Paul said that sacrifice was revealed when “at the right time Christ died for the un-godly” (v.6). The Greek word for right time is the word “kairos.” It means the opportune moment as opposed to “chronos,” meaning time as it is measured on a clock or calendar. That opportune time was not when humanity was righteous but when we were sinners. It was not when we were obedient but when we were in rebellion. When we were at our worst, God gave us His best. Christ died for us — not when we got our act together, not when we finally started attending church, not when we stopped sinning — but while we were still sinners. This love does not make sense to the world. Paul noted that among humans, it would be rare to die even for a good person. But God? He dies for people who are running in the opposite direction. That is scandalous grace.
THE POWER OF RECONCILIATION
Through Christ’s death, we are not only justified (declared righteous) but also reconciled (restored to right relationship). Reconciliation is not just about wiping away sin — it is about bringing us into God’s family. You do not just get a clean slate — you get a new identity: From enemy to friend; from outcast to beloved; from lost to found. And it does not stop there! Verse 10 says, “How much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!” (NIV). God’s love is not just a past event — it is a present and ongoing rescue. We have been brought back to where we belong, into fellowship with the Father. “More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation” (v.11, ESV).
When we hold Luke 15 and Romans 5 together, we see two sides of the same love: Luke 15 shows God’s pursuit — He comes after us. Romans 5 shows God’s provision — He pays the price for our return. The lost sheep cannot find its way home alone. The sinner cannot reconcile with God by his effort alone. In both cases, God takes the first step. And His joy is not complete until we are fully restored into His presence. As we reflect on these passages, let us live as people who know the joy of being rescued and reconciled, and let us join our Shepherd in His mission to bring others home.
HINTS FOR TEACHING:
LESSON GOALS:
- Knowing: Decipher the paradoxical images of Jesus as both “shepherd” and “sacrificial lamb.”
- Loving: Express gratitude for the ways in which they have experienced Christ’s rescue.
- Serving: Resist complacency in resolving conflict by boldly enacting Christ’s reconciling power.
TEACHING ACTIVITY:
Tie the hands of a “helpless” student and have them sit down while others try to “help” them stand. Eventually, allow someone to untie and free them. Discuss: What did it feel like to be helpless? How does this relate to our spiritual helplessness (Romans 5:6)? Next, have participants draw a timeline of their lives in three sections: 1) Lost/Helpless; 2) Found/Reconciled; 3) Living Reconciled. Invite participants to share their maps and compare these with the sheep’s journey (Luke 15) and Paul’s description of reconciliation (Romans 5).
LOOKING BACK:
We celebrated God’s extravagant love in seeking and reconciling us Next, we will under-stand how the Holy Spirit provides assurance of our new identity in Christ.
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