Sermon Illustrations

SPINNING A WEB: ANDY'S STORY

Andy Fastow was a brilliant kid in the high school graduating class in New Providence, New Jersey. He was one of the really good kids. In fact, he was the student body president of his senior class. He went on to get a great education and a fantastic job. He climbed his way up the ladder until he became the Chief Financial Officer of his corporation. In fact he became one of the most powerful businessmen in America.

But in order to climb that ladder he had to cheat. I’m sure he didn’t start out his career thinking he’d cheat his way to the top, but somewhere along the way he decided to negotiate his sin rather than eradicate it. Eventually he spun one of the greatest webs of sin corporate America has ever seen. You may have heard of Andy Fastow, because the corporation he was CFO of was Enron. He was indicted on 78 counts of fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.

When you try to negotiate sin, you just continue to weave the web that will eventually ensnare you. People are always looking for spectacular miracles or answers. They are looking at the temporal and forgetting the eternal.

(From a sermon by Terry Blankenship, Living in Unbelief, 5/16/2011)

Related Sermon Illustrations

Related Sermons

  • The Truth About Lying

    Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Oct 26, 2012
    based on 2 ratings
     | 14,288 views

    Although the movie, "Liar, Liar" is a comedy, the issue of lying is anything but funny. Max’s birthday wish was for his father to stop lying. God has that same desire for us. He understands how serious of an issue lying is and how important it is for his

  • A Failure Of Faith Series

    Contributed by David Owens on Jun 12, 2017
    based on 1 rating
     | 13,848 views

    No one is perfect. Even the greatest of Biblical characters are sinners. When Abraham faced the first crisis since deciding to walk with God, he defaulted to his old ways of falsehood rather than walking by faith.

  • Which Bridge Is Safe?

    Contributed by Bruce Ball on Apr 8, 2015
    based on 4 ratings
     | 13,489 views

    Using the analogy of a bridge crossing a chasm, we discuss that even though there seems to be many bridges available, only one really leads to the other side and we must be careful when deciding which bridge.

  • Accentuate The Positive Series

    Contributed by Dennis Davidson on Mar 7, 2013
    based on 4 ratings
     | 12,927 views

    Prudent, accurate, honest, sensitive communication is a major theme threaded through Proverbs. This emphasis is mandated because words & actions are the way we relate to one another. Basically, we need to accentuate the positive & eliminate the negative.

  • The Value Of Honesty

    Contributed by Dennis Lee on Nov 17, 2019
    based on 4 ratings
     | 10,478 views

    Today's Message is looking at the value of honesty in our series on building lasting values in our lives as we build up God's house within us. We also look at several steps to help us out in the process.