Gilligan’s Island and the Seven Deadly Sins – Bible Study

 

Lesson 1

Section Title:  Rescue from Gilligan’s Island

Lesson Title:  “Seven Castaways, Seven Deadly Sins”

Biblical Principles:  Sloth, Anger, Pride, Greed, Gluttony, Lust and Envy.

 

Parable:  Early Christian teachers considered seven sins deadly.  While the Bible does not list the seven sins by themselves, the teaching was derived from passages like Mark 7:21-23 “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.”

What words in Mark 7:21-23 represent which deadly sin:             Which Character

  1. Greed = ___________                                                        ______________
  2. Envy = ___________                                                         ______________
  3. Lust = ___________, ______ & ________                       ______________
  4. Anger = ____________ & ______________                    ______________
  5. Pride = ____________                                                      ______________
  6. Gluttony = _______________                                          _______________
  7. Sloth = _____________                                                   _______________


These sins were called deadly because the can damage our capacity to love, thereby causing serious injury to our relationship to God and men and thus killing the life of grace that the Lord wants us to live.

 

Watch Rescue episode of Gilligan’s Island.  Which character represents each of the seven deadly sins (Write it next to sin listed above)

 

Let’s look closer at each sin:

Sloth:  Proverbs 20:4  - “A sluggard does not plow in season, so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.”  Is a condition that affects us not only physically and mentally, but spiritually.  Without a purpose, an aimless life is vulnerable to many sinful distractions.

  1. In what ways did _________ act slothfully?
  2. Was _________ diligent or directionless?

Anger:  Jonah 4:4  “But the Lord replied to Jonah “Have you any right to be angry!””

Angry people just care to much --- about themselves.

  1. Why did the ___________ get angry at Gilligan?
  2. For whose sake did he get angry?

Pride:  Proverbs 29:23  “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”  Too much pride is nothing to be proud of.  The danger of this sin is that it stops us from acknowledging the grace of God by convincing us that we are sufficient on our own.

  1. How was the ___________ prideful?
  2. Why did he think only he could come up with a rescue plan?

Greed:  Ephesians 5:5   “For of this you can be sure.  No immoral impure or greedy person – such a man is an idolater – has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”  The feeling of greed can never be satisfied by an act of greed.  This is because more than any one potential possession, greed idolizes greed, making the greedy person an idolater.  A person afflicted by Greed will never see the kingdom of God.

  1. How did ____________ show his focus on greed?
  2. Why did he try to bribe Gilligan?

Gluttony:  Proverbs 28:7  “He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father” Gluttony is a selfishness beyond reason for anything, whether food or riches or even social standing.

  1. How did ______________ engage in gluttony?
  2. Why would she want to count her servants at home?

Lust:  1 Thessalonian 4:3-5  “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality, 4) that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable.  5) not in a passionate lust like the heathen, who do not now God”  Our sexual desires should be placed under God’s guidance and our sexual experience should take place within marriage – which will keep us from hurting God and other, as well as ourselves.

  1. Why did ________ try to entice Gilligan with lust?
  2. How did she try to tempt him to tell his secret?

Envy:  Proverbs 24:19-20 Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of the wicked for the evil man has no future hope, and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.   When wicked men prosper through wicked means, it is tempting to want what they have, regardless of how they got it.  But we need to remember that those men have no future hope, while everything they have that we envy will fade.

  1. Why did _________ try to inspire envy in Gilligan?
  2. Why did she tease him with her pies?

 

In opposition to the seven deadly sins, early Christian teachers also compiled a list of seven holy virtues.  Living out these virtues was meant to help men counteract the temptation toward the seven sins.  Those seven virtues are:

  1. Diligence – against sloth
  2. Patience – against anger
  3. Chastity – against lust
  4. Humility – against pride
  5. Generosity against greed
  6. Restraint against gluttony
  7. Contentment against envy

 

This Week: 

  1. Read John 3:16 daily devotional days 8-14
  2. Make a commitment to daily quiet time of prayer.  Utilize PRAY acronym if helpful.  Praise-Repent-Ask-Yield

 

Next Sunday:  Lesson will focus on Deadly sins of Sloth & Anger along with virtues of Diligence and Patience.

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