How People Change, Chapter 9

Chapter 9 – Thorns 1: What Entangles You?
1. What does it mean to have “thankful discontent” or “joyful dissatisfaction” What does it not mean? (p. 118-119).
2. Read Hebrews 4:14-5:10. What can you learn from this passage? (p. 120). Anything else?
3. Read Ephesians 4:17-5:20. What are the thorns and fruit in this passage? What are the roots? As you prayerfully examine yourself, what do you see? How does this new fruit work out in the everyday world? (Ephesians 5:21 – 6:9).
4. Read Ephesians 6:10-18. What is the war? What are your resources and how can you specifically use them?
5. Continue to have the courage for thorn self-examination by pondering the list of questions on page 123.
6. What does the author say are some typical thorn bush responses and which ones are you most likely to fall into? (124-125).
7. What are some ways to replace the thorns with fruit? (126-127).
8. Personal Growth Project
“Think about the struggle you chose last week for your Personal Growth Project. Use the categories from this lesson to identify where you may be responding to life in THORN bush ways.
a. Where do you see patterns of denial, avoidance, or escape?
b. When or where have you magnified, expanded, or catastrophized your struggle?
c. Are there situations or relationships where you are prickly and hypersensitive?
d. Are there situations where you are tempted to return evil for evil?
e. As you face this struggle, do you feel bogged down, paralyzed, captured?
f. Where do you tend to be self-righteous or self-excusing?
Be humble and honest as you answer these questions, but don’t allow yourself to become discouraged and overwhelmed. Remember, there is already evidence of good FRUIT in your life. The One who calls you to change has already given you everything you need so that those changes can actually take place (2 Peter 1:3,4).”