This post accompanies the message from 6/8/2014.

There is a book called How People Change by Paul Tripp that lays out a model for change in a person's life. I'll present you the super-cliff notes version in hopes that you'll buy the book for yourself and skip the poor recaps and go straight to the source!

1. Heat - everyone experiences heat in their life as a result of pressure, your own sin, others' sin, or the stress of life.

2. Thorns - this heat produces thorns, sinful responses to the difficulties of life. These are actions and attitudes that are poor ways of responding.

3. Cross - when we apply the truths of the gospel to our lives we are confronted by a holy yet loving God. This leads to repentance in mind then in deed.

4. Fruit - Fruit are the good responses that come when we understand and apply the truths of the gospel to our own lives.

There is a lot to this simple metaphor, but hopefully it will get you started on the path to discovering even more.