MAIN POINT:
"We can grow deep roots in our relationship with God and overcome hardship by letting Him change the way we think."

CHALLENGE QUESTION:
"For Christ-followers: Is there a situation in your life that’s causing you to doubt or waiver in your faith in Him?"
"For spiritual seekers/haven’t committed their life to Christ: What’s the hardship in your life that’s causing you to not accept God’s message of grace and hope in your life?"

KEY VERSES:

Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." – Mark 4:16-17 (NIV)

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." – Romans 12:2 (NIV)

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
Mark 4:3-8, 13-20 (CEV); Romans 12:2 (CEV)

SERIES DESCRIPTION:
We all want to experience God more—to know Him, to feel His presence, to see Him working through us—but we’re not always willing to go to the “dirty areas” in our life: to learn what we need to learn, to do what we need to do, the work to clear away the things that hold us back. For us to experience God in a life-transforming way, we have to actively prepare the soil of our hearts so that God’s principles, promises, and power can take root and grow.