Forest Hill PCA Devotionals

Title: Marriage & Freedom

Speaker: Rev. Jason Van Bemmel

Series: Unpacking Corinthians

Date: June 29, 2026

Bible: 1 Corinthians 7

Today, we tackle 1 Corinthians 7, a chapter packed with practical, often thorny, wisdom regarding marriage, singleness, and human freedom.

In this episode, we explore:

• The Corinthian Context: Why Paul's practical advice must be read with an understanding of Corinth's extreme sexual immorality (including temple prostitution) and the looming threat of intense Christian persecution.

• No Compromise: How Christians must balance practical wisdom in a hostile culture without ever editing or compromising God's clear, lifelong standards for marriage and sexuality.

• Contentment in Your Calling: Paul's advice on navigating singleness, marriage to an unbelieving spouse, and why serving the Lord with undivided devotion is a beautiful calling.

• A Biblical View on Freedom: A powerful look at verses 20-23, proving that the Bible is not "pro-slavery" and that the image of God is fundamentally incompatible with the enslavement of men.

Thank you for joining us! For a deeper dive into this chapter, check out Pastor Jason's full sermon series on 1 Corinthians available on this channel and SermonAudio. Have a blessed day in the Lord!

Title: Baptizing Babies?

Speaker: Rev. Jason Van Bemmel

Series: Heidelberg Catechism Devos

Date: June 22, 2026

Should we baptize infants? Why?

Pastor Jason addresses this question using Heidelberg Catechism Question #74.

Title: Glorify God in Your Body

Speaker: Rev. Jason Van Bemmel

Series: Unpacking Corinthians

Date: June 24, 2026

Glorifying God in Our Bodies & Rejecting Worldliness

1 Corinthians 6

In this bold and penetrating devotional on 1 Corinthians 6, we confront the ways Christians are often tempted to compromise with a litigious and sexually immoral culture. In this episode, we explore:

- Lawsuits Among Believers: Why taking a fellow Christian to court before an unbelieving judge is a failure, and how it reveals a deeper issue of accepting worldly standards.

- The Kingdom of God: A hard look at the lifestyles and sins that the world shrugs off, but God declares incompatible with His kingdom.

- A New Identity in Christ: Why Christians should never find their identity in their past sins or ongoing temptations, but instead rest in being washed, sanctified, and justified.

- Your Body is a Temple: Understanding the profound reality that our bodies are members of Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit, demanding that we flee sexual immorality and glorify God in everything we do.

Title: Washed by Baptism?

Speaker: Rev. Jason Van Bemmel

Series: Heidelberg Catechism Devos

Date: June 24, 2026

If water baptism doesn't itself wash away sin, why does the Bible use the kind of language it sometimes does about baptism?

Pastor Jason explains in this devotional from Heidelberg Catechism Question #73.

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Title: The Danger of Compromise

Speaker: Rev. Jason Van Bemmel

Series: Unpacking Corinthians

Date: June 23, 2026

Bible: 1 Corinthians 5

Purity in the Church & The Danger of Compromise

1 Corinthians 5

In today's devotional, Pastor Jason Van Bemmel explores the challenging but necessary instructions given in 1 Corinthians 5. When the Corinthian church began boasting about their tolerance of gross sexual immorality, the Apostle Paul delivered a strong message about church discipline and the danger of compromising with worldly influence. In this episode, we cover:

Church Discipline: Why the church must not tolerate or celebrate unrepentant sin, and how excommunication is ultimately aimed at the restoration of the individual.

The Danger of Leaven: How tolerating just a little bit of immorality acts like leaven, spreading negative influence and cheap grace throughout the entire congregation.

Christ Our Passover Lamb: A look at how Jesus fulfilled the Passover, calling believers to live spiritually as "unleavened bread" in sincerity and truth.

Judging Inside vs. Outside: Understanding our call to be salt and light in the world without completely isolating ourselves, while maintaining strict boundaries against scandalous sin within the church family.

Thank you for watching!

www.foresthillpca.org

What's the difference between a Gospel sacrament and an idolatrous sacramentalism? It's found in today's vital question, Heidelberg Catechism #72.

Q. Does this outward washing with water itself wash away sins?

A. No, only the blood of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit cleanse us from all sins.

Pastor Jason's devotional on Heidelberg Catechism Question #71

In this devotional on 1 Corinthians 4, Pastor Jason Van Bemmel addresses the danger of adopting a worldly worldview within the church. The core issue for the Corinthian church was that they evaluated people and ministries based on how culturally impressive they were.Key takeaways from the text include:Confronting Worldly Pride: The gospel does not conform to the value systems of the surrounding culture. Instead, it directly confronts human pride, arrogance, and the worldly cravings defined as the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.The Contrast of Christ and Pilate: Believers are called to imitate the humble and meek nature of Jesus Christ rather than worldly models of power. During His trial, Jesus appeared helpless and beaten, while Pontius Pilate held all the power of Rome. Yet, it was Pilate who was truly helpless to accomplish his goals, whereas Jesus successfully went to the cross.The "Already, but Not Yet" Kingdom: The Corinthians were guilty of an "over-realized eschatology," meaning they tried to pull the glory of the future kingdom into the present age. While believers will eventually inherit the new heavens and earth and be perfected in glory, that consummation has not yet arrived. In the present life, Christians are called to endure suffering, labor, and live by faith and hope rather than expecting immediate eternal treasures.Misjudging Faithful Ministry: Because they desired worldly glory now, the Corinthians risked misjudging faithful, ordinary Bible teachers. Pastors who preach about suffering and taking up the cross can appear unimpressive to a culture seeking secret insights and immediate power.The Path of the Cross: Just as Jesus rejected Satan's offer to claim the world's kingdoms without the cross, believers must recognize that true glory requires enduring the cross first. Exaltation comes after the grave.

Pastor Jason Van Bemmel of Forest Hill Presbyterian Church continues our study of the Heidelberg Catechism by exploring Question 70: What does it mean to be washed with Christ's blood and Spirit?Building on the foundation of baptism and the sacraments, this message dives into the beautiful, biblical reality of what it means to be truly cleansed by God. Pastor Jason breaks down this spiritual washing into two vital parts:Washed with Christ's Blood: Receiving the absolute forgiveness of sins through grace, entirely because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.Washed with the Spirit: Experiencing renewal and sanctification by the Holy Spirit, empowering us to die to sin and lead a holy, blameless life as members of Christ.Scripture References in this Devotional:Zechariah 13:9 – The fountain opened for cleansing.Ephesians 1:7 – Redemption and forgiveness through His blood.1 Peter 1:1-2 – Sanctification of the Spirit and sprinkling with His blood.Revelation 1:5 – Freed from our sins by His blood.Ezekiel 36:25-27 – Sprinkled with clean water and given a new Spirit.John 3:5-8 – Born of water and the Spirit.1 Corinthians 6:11 – Washed, sanctified, and justified.

Paul addresses the Corinthian church's division and jealousy, noting they are acting like "infants in Christ".

The congregation had splintered into factions loyal to different leaders, such as Paul, Apollos, and Peter.

To correct this, Paul emphasizes that ministers are merely God's workers; it is God alone who provides the growth.

Jesus Christ is the sole foundation of the church, and ministers must be careful how they build upon it.

Works built using worldly wisdom (described as wood, hay, and straw) will be burned up and fail the testing by fire on the Day of Judgment.

At Forest Hill, the focus remains on faithfully preaching and living the Bible, rather than utilizing worldly church growth strategies.