March 1, 2025
A video introduction using illustrations, personal stories, metaphors, or active learning examples to begin the discussion.
After the video, prompts are supplied for thinking and sharing with others personal perception and experience. This opening activity prompts participants to think about and relate to the topic, and to share with others.
Have you ever heard of the term “moral licensing”?
Moral licensing happens when we justify wrong choices or attitudes because we’ve done something good. It’s like a mental trade-off—we convince ourselves that one good action makes up for another bad one, often without realizing it.
Ranking Exercise: Read the following statements and rank them from 1 (most common) to 7 (least common).
___ I go to church, but I take breaks from worship whenever I feel like it.
___ I care about justice in society, but I ignore or mistreat difficult people around me.
___ I avoid “big sins,” so I don’t worry much about “small” ones.
___ I help out at church and school, but I avoid doing what really matters in my life.
___ I listen to worship music, so what I watch on social media doesn’t really matter.
___ I pray about my mistakes, so I don’t need to apologize or fix them.
___ If I’m doing fine in school and staying out of trouble, I don’t push myself to grow or commit to others.
It’s easy to compare ourselves to others and feel “good enough.” The Pharisees fell into this trap, believing their outward actions justified their inner flaws. Where do we see moral licensing in our own lives?
The Bible discussion begins with a careful reading of the whole passage, either from your own Bibles, or from the provided images below.
Then participants are to ask:
Read Matthew 21:33-40:
The Parable of the Tenants
33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”
Jesus’ parable of the tenants is striking and unsettling. The vineyard owner represents God, the tenants symbolize Israel’s leaders, and the servants are the prophets sent to call them back. When the son—pointing to Jesus—arrives, he is rejected and killed. It’s easy to think, “Those Pharisees didn’t get it.” But Jesus is speaking to us too. Isaiah 53:6 reminds us that our own sins played a part in His sacrifice. Like the religious leaders, we often shift blame, thinking the problem is someone else.
How often do we enjoy God’s blessings but resist His authority? Maybe we don’t reject Him outright, but do we ignore conviction, resist change, or justify our actions instead of repenting? When God sends people to challenge us, do we welcome truth or push it aside?
Jesus warns that the kingdom belongs to those who bear fruit. Are we producing real fruit in our relationships and daily choices, or just occupying space? 2 Thessalonians 2:11 warns of self-deception—how true is this today? If Jesus told this parable now, would we see ourselves in it?
A parting video clip with a personal invitation to apply the message to “knowing Christ” and “living in Christ” in the coming week.