In Sermon Illustrations: "John Piper"

Verbal Plenary Inspiration

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 15, 2026

Can we trust God’s Word as the truth? Can it be a light into the darkness we face? I want to briefly explain, again, what I believe about how we got the Bible. This is referred to as “Verbal Plenary Inspiration.” I believe the words of Holy Scripture were given to the men who wrote the original ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:19-21, Hebrews 4:12

Tags: Bible, Hope, Inspired Word Of God

Denomination: Methodist

The Pit

Contributed by John Bright on Jan 18, 2026

The Pit man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out. A subjective person came along and said: "I feel for you down there." An objective person came along and said: "It's logical that someone would fall down there." A Pharisee said: "Only bad people fall into ...read more

Scripture: James 1:22-27

Tags: Jesus, Helping Others

Denomination: Methodist

Spurgeon Quote

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 3, 2026

"For us to hate those who are in error, or talk of them with contempt or wish them ill, or do them wrong, is not according to the Spirit of Christ. You cannot cast out Satan by Satan, nor correct error by violence, nor overcome hate ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:12, Matthew 5:43-48

Tags: Love, Enemies

Denomination: Methodist

Shoveling Snow

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 3, 2026

It was frigid—bone-chilling—and we had another heavy snowfall. When I opened my garage door, I quickly realized that looking at the big picture wouldn’t be helpful. Instead, I needed to focus on just one shovel of snow at a time. Blinders would have been useful, so that I wouldn’t see to the left ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 3:16-21

Tags: Slow Down, Trials

Denomination: Methodist

Fear And Division

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 3, 2026

A Simple Game Teaches Kids About Fear and Division One of my friends told me about a powerful lesson in her daughter's high school class recently. They're learning about the Salem Witch Trials, and their teacher told them they were going to play a game. "I'm going to come ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:10, Ephesians 4:3

Tags: Fear, High School, Division, Salem Witch Trials

Denomination: Methodist

Benediction

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 3, 2026

May you know the warmth of God’s loving embrace May you know the joy of God’s ever-presence May you know the peace of God’s gentle whisper May you know the strength of ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:20

Tags: God's Presence, Peace, Joy, Strength

Denomination: Methodist

Garbage In - Garbage Out

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 4, 2026

Do you remember this kid’s song? Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear, Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear. There’s a Father up above looking down in tender love, Oh, be careful, little ears, what you hear. We teach this to children because we know that what goes in will come out. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:1-3, Jude 1:1-4

Tags: Truth, Lies

Denomination: Methodist

Standing Up For Truth

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 4, 2026

Both these letters make it clear who is a danger to the house churches. They paint a picture of men whose words and actions need to be challenged and condemned. Do you think it was as hard for them back then as it is for us today? I had a friend who visited a church and attended Sunday School. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-3, Jude 1:4

Tags: Truth, God's Word, Sunday School

Denomination: Methodist

Heresy Of Hyper-Grace

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 4, 2026

One more brief description of a heresy in our recent past, where grace was turned into lewdness – The Hyper-Grace Movement. They were teaching that since all our past, present, and future sins are forgiven already, you might as well go ahead and do whatever you want. In churches where this took ...read more

Scripture: Romans 6:1-2, Jude 1:4

Tags: Sin, Hyper Grace

Denomination: Methodist

Check The $100 Bill

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 4, 2026

Folks who work in banks are taught to recognize counterfeit $100 bills. Do you know how? Do you think they have to learn every trick of every forger? Nope. They study and learn the real thing. That way, the forgeries will be obvious. That’s what we need to do. You ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12

Tags: Truth, False Teaching, God's Word, Lie

Denomination: Methodist

Love - According To Kids

Contributed by John Bright on Feb 12, 2026

What Does Love Mean? A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8-year-olds: "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think: "When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Tags: Kids, Love

Denomination: Methodist

Don't Be Like These Guys!

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 5, 2026

Jude used three examples from the Old Testament to show that these false teachers are not to be trusted or followed. In Genesis 4:1-16, we find the first murder in the Bible when Cain kills his brother Abel. If these false teachers are leading folks back to their former state – being unsaved – ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:11, 2 Timothy 4:3, Numbers 16:31-35

Tags: Salvation, Heresy, False Teachers, Cain, Korah, Balaam, Jude  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Methodist

Honest Is The Best Policy

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

A successful businessman knew it was time to choose a successor to lead his business. Instead of appointing one of his directors, or one of his children, he decided to call the company's young executives together. He said, "It is time for me to choose the next CEO. I have decided to ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 10:9, Proverbs 11:3

Tags: Humility, Honesty

Denomination: Methodist

Sowing And Reaping

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

I want to remind you of a basic truth of Scripture - the Law of Sowing and Reaping that we read about in Galatians 6:7: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.” I always illustrate this with the same example: if I plant an apple tree, can I expect ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 6:7

Tags: Peace, Sowing, Reaping

Denomination: Methodist

Our Team Is Bigger

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

We read about a rebellion in heaven in Revelation 12:7-10: “7 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 12:7-10, Revelation 9:1-3

Tags: Holy Spirit, Angels, Demons, Fallen Angels

Denomination: Methodist

Seeing What You Want To See

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

“People find what they want in the Bible. If one looks hard enough, he can find “biblical” support for reincarnation, Eastern religions, Jesus as a guru, divorce for any reason, and flying saucers. Every cult of Christianity uses the Bible to validate its claims, and so does some of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:4-10, Jude 1:5-7

Tags: False Teachers, Sodom, Sexual Immorality

Denomination: Methodist

Angels - Do You Believe?

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

Please raise your hand if you believe in angels. Thanks, put your hand down. Please raise your hand if you believe in demons. Thanks, put your hand down. If you raised your hand both times, you have a Biblical view of angels. Too many church members have a view of angels that contains New Age ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 2:10-16, Jude 1:8-11

Tags: Angels, Demons, Billy Graham

Denomination: Methodist

Don't Be Afraid!

Contributed by John Bright on Mar 20, 2026

Another book I would recommend is “The Screwtape Letters” (1942) by C.S. Lewis. This is from the preface: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and ...read more

Scripture: Jude 1:8-10, 1 Peter 2:10-13

Tags: Holy Spirit, Satan, Cs Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Denomination: Methodist

What Is Death Like

Contributed by John Hamby on Jun 1, 2026

In his book “A Man Called Peter” Peter Marshall tells the story of a little boy he knew who was suffering from a terminal illness. At first, he didn’t understand what was happening to him, but as the months passed, and he had to stay inside while his friends went outside to play, the truth ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 9:27

Tags: Death, Die

Denomination: Baptist

Before We Can Begin To See The Cross As ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Feb 8, 2006

"Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as ...read more

Tags: Cross Agony