Sermon Central
-
I'm Always Fascinated By The Stories Of People ...
Contributed by Bret Toman on May 20, 2010 (message contributor)
I'm always fascinated by the stories of people who win large sums of money in lotteries. A large majority of whom wish they had never won.
Willie Hurt of Lansing, Mich., won $3.1 million in 1989. Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. His lawyer says Hurt spent his fortune on a divorce and crack cocaine.
Charles Riddle of Belleville, Mich., won $1 million in 1975. Afterward, he got divorced, faced several lawsuits and was indicted for selling cocaine.
Missourian Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993. Lee was generous to a variety of causes, giving to politics, education and the community. But according to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left in two bank accounts and no cash on hand.
One Southeastern family won $4.2 million in the early '90s. They bought a huge house and succumbed to repeated family requests for help in paying off debts.
The house, cars and relatives ate the whole pot. Eleven years later, the couple is divorcing, the house is sold and they have to split what is left of the lottery proceeds. The wife got a very small house. The husband has moved in with the kids.
William "Bud" Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his social security.
"I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare," says Post.
A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. It wasn't his only lawsuit. A brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. Other siblings pestered him until he agreed to invest in a car business and a restaurant in Sarasota, Fla., -- two ventures that brought no money back and further strained his relationship with his siblings.
Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt.
(http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/8lotteryWinnersWhoLostTheirMillions.aspx)
Maybe you'll be one of this millions this week who will stand in line and give away your hard earned money for a chance to have it happen to YOU!
Why do we do it?!?
Hunger and thirst. Believing that stuff, security, pleasure and whatever else we believe money can buy will satisfy our hunger and thirst. Getting a mouth full of sand and going back for more.
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
Citation: N.t. Wright In For All God's Worth. ...
Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Feb 27, 2004
Citation: N.T. Wright in For All God’s Worth. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 12.] We live in a world full of people struggling to be, or at least to appear, strong in order not to be weak; and we ...read more
-
Several Years Ago At A Promise Keepers ...
Contributed by Timothy Smith on Sep 3, 2005
Several years ago at a Promise Keepers conference, Dennis Rainey placed animal traps on stage. They were big ones too. Bear traps and even an African safari large animal trap that took two men to open. There were a dozen or so traps, and he set or opened them all. Then Dennis Rainey had a father ...read more
-
Beauty's True Source PRO
Contributed by A. Todd Coget on Feb 27, 2004
[Beauty’s True Source, Citation: Jim Congdon] A jarring TV commercial didn’t say a word. It simply shows a series of people who have one thing in common—a nasty injury or scar. There’s a cowboy with a huge scar around his eye, and something wrong with the eye itself; a fellow with a bulbous ...read more
-
Marty Williams A Pastor Of Family Ministries Asks ... PRO
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on Jul 15, 2004
Marty Williams a Pastor of Family Ministries asks the question that we all must ask ourselves today, “Am I Teachable?” He has 12 thoughts to help us discover if we are teachable: 1. I am willing to listen more than talk. 2. I admit when I am mistaken. 3. I observe before acting on a ...read more
-
A Jewish Man Was Confronting A Christian Man: ...
Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Mar 15, 2005
A Jewish man was confronting a Christian man: “You know, you people borrowed the 10 Commandments from us.” “Well,” responded the Christian, “we may ...read more
Related Sermons
-
The Poverty Mindset
Contributed by Jeff Van Wyk on Apr 13, 2013
One false concept is that poverty has some mysterious refining qualities. Some believe that it is spiritual to be poor. That is not the way God lives and neither does He want us to live that way. Just look how He blessed Abraham. The Bible teaches us that
-
Invest In God's Kingdom
Contributed by Jeff Van Wyk on Feb 2, 2013
To be a good steward we must not waste what has been given to us. We must invest what has been given to us and must show a return for it.We are given resources according to our individual abilities. We are all different. It is a fact that some people are
-
The Rich Fool Series
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Nov 4, 2018
Why was God angry at the "rich farmer?" What had this farmer done wrong and what can we learn from his story about the need to being rich toward God?
-
I’m Gone Get To My Better Series
Contributed by Charles Jones on Jun 30, 2012
You may know that God wants to save you. You may know that God wants to heal you. But do you also know that God wants to prosper you?
-
True Riches Series
Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Oct 20, 2014
Our attitude toward money & how we use it is a barometer of our spiritual state. It reveals whether we are foolishly thinking only of the present or astutely looking to eternity. What is the purpose of money anyway?
