Become New with John Ortberg

Jaksot

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  82. There Are 3 Kinds of Friends. Here’s the One You Need. 15.09.2026 15min

  There are three kinds of friends. Two can be valuable, but the third can actually help you become the person God created you to be. Beginning with Psalm 122 and the simple words “Let us go,” John Ortberg explores why friendship is so essential to human flourishing and why it seems increasingly difficult to find. Drawing on Aristotle's three kinds of friendship, John looks at useful friends, pleasant friends, and spiritual friends: people with whom we can be honest, vulnerable, challenged,...
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  81. Two Kinds of Commitment. Only One Transforms You. 14.09.2026 13min

  There are two kinds of commitments: contracts and covenants. We need both. But John Ortberg explains why one can enhance your life while the other can actually transform it. Beginning with Psalm 35, John explores the difference between transactional relationships and covenant relationships, from Casablanca to a remarkable moment in American history when Psalm 35 was read before the Continental Congress. A contract protects individual rights. A covenant creates a “we.” And Scripture doesn't de...
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  80. How to Get "Unstuck" in Praise 11.09.2026 14min

  Why does God want us to praise Him? And what if praising God sometimes feels awkward, artificial, or forced? In this reflection on Psalm 67, John Ortberg explores the same question that once troubled C. S. Lewis. Lewis eventually discovered that God doesn't need praise like an insecure person needs compliments. Praise is actually part of our enjoyment of what's good. We naturally praise the things we love, and we want other people to enjoy them too. That's why Lewis concluded that praise does...
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  79. What to Do When You’re Afraid 10.09.2026 10min

  What do you do when you're afraid? In this reflection on Psalm 62, John Ortberg shares a memorable Dallas Willard story about a terrified cat clinging to a tree, and asks a surprisingly revealing question: What's your branch? When we're afraid, we clutch. We grasp for control over relationships, money, health, reputation, work, or whatever makes us feel secure. But Psalm 62 offers another way. Let go. Lean on God. And stand firm. John explains how these two seemingly contradictory postures be...
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  78. How to Not Waste Your Most Valuable Asset 09.09.2026 14min

  Who has your attention? In a world where screens, money, health, worries, ambitions, and countless other forces compete for our focus, John Ortberg asks a deeper question: Who is my master? Psalm 143 teaches us how to pay attention to God through two important practices: focused attention and open attention. John explores why attention is so powerful, how what we consistently attend to can actually change us, and how we can learn to notice God's presence throughout an ordinary day. The invita...
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  77. Finding Perspective Changes Everything 08.09.2026 10min

  Sometimes you need to stop moving long enough to notice where you actually are. In this reflection on Psalm 100, John Ortberg pulls over at a vista point and invites us to create a “vista point” in our own day: pause, look around, notice the beauty and goodness of God, and make a joyful noise. John also shares the remarkable story of a $3 thrift-store jersey that turned out to be worth $90,000. It looked discarded, but it was a treasure. Maybe you need that reminder too. You are not self-made...
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  76. What Dallas Willard Taught Us About Psalm 23 (w/Keith Matthews) 07.09.2026 11min

  What do people experience when they're around you? In this conversation on Psalm 23, John Ortberg is joined by Keith Matthews, who spent 18 years teaching alongside Dallas Willard. Keith shares what Dallas was really like, why he loved Psalm 23, and a remarkable story about a young woman whose life changed after simply watching Dallas interact with someone on the USC campus. Dallas often prayed that people would have “a radiant life and a radiant death.” His life embodied a deep confidence in...
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  75. Life-Maxing? No, No, No...Try This Instead 04.09.2026 14min

  We're surrounded by voices telling us to maximize ourselves: our looks, productivity, wealth, health, status, experiences, and potential. But Jesus offers a radically different path to maximum life. In this episode, John Ortberg explores the “self-maximizer” inside us and contrasts it with John the Baptist's famous words: “He must increase; I must decrease.” The paradox of God's kingdom is that abundant life doesn't come from making ourselves bigger. It comes as we loosen our grip on ego, rep...
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  74. The Number One Self-Care Solution 03.09.2026 15min

  What does your soul actually need for self-care? Psalm 19 gives a surprising answer: “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” In this episode, John Ortberg explores why God's instruction isn't meant to burden us, but to help make us whole. Our souls become divided when our thoughts, desires, values, words, and actions pull in different directions. God's Word shows us what is good and helps bring our lives back into alignment. John also shares how memorizing 1 Corinthians 13 helped...
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  73. Two Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Day 02.09.2026 13min

  We're surrounded by surveys. Rate your phone call. Rate your church experience. Rate your doctor's visit. John even got asked to rate his experience giving a urine sample. 😂 But what about the things that actually matter? In this reflection on Psalm 36, John Ortberg gives us two surveys worth taking every day. Survey #1: Is there anything in me that needs correcting? Instead of reading about “the wicked” and immediately thinking about someone else, Psalm 36 invites us to look honestly at ours...
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  72. Psalm 139, Gollum, and Finding Our Identity 01.09.2026 12min

  Remember where you come from. According to John Ortberg, remembering where you truly come from gives you two remarkable gifts: Identity and hope. In this reflection on Psalm 139, John explores what it means to be “fearfully and wonderfully made.” In this episode: Psalm 139 and where we truly come from Why remembering your origin gives you identity What it means to be fearfully and wonderfully made Your body as your “little kingdom” The biblical word golem Gollum and the Ring “What's your r...
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  71. Becoming Defensive Doesn't Help. Here's Why 31.08.2026 12min

  What happens when God shows you something about yourself you don't want to see? Our instinct is often to defend. Explain. Distract ourselves. Push it away. But what if the uncomfortable truth is actually an invitation to transformation? In this reflection on Psalm 32, John Ortberg explores the relationship between pain, honesty, forgiveness, and genuine change. John begins personally, describing a conversation in which a longtime friend helped him recognize uncomfortable patterns of co...
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  70. How to Keep Your Soul Healthy 28.08.2026 8min

  How is it with your soul? It's probably not a question anyone else will ask you today. But it may be one of the most important questions you can ask yourself. In this reflection on the Psalms, John Ortberg draws from Renovation of the Heart to explore what the soul actually is and why its health affects everything else in our lives. Dallas Willard describes the soul as an inner stream of water that brings strength, direction, and harmony to the rest of our being. That's why the Psalms repeate...
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  69. The Glory and Burden of Potential 27.08.2026 13min

  What if you haven't lived up to your potential? In this reflection on Psalm 8, John Ortberg explores one of the great wonders of God's creation: human potential. You can count the seeds in an apple. But you cannot count the apples in a seed. Human beings possess an extraordinary capacity to grow, create, love, serve and become. Psalm 8 looks at the vastness of the heavens and then marvels that God is mindful of us. But there's another side to potential. It can become a burden. I should be fur...
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  68. This Question Will Guide Your Life 26.08.2026 13min

  What do you really want? According to the Gospel of John, that's the first question Jesus asks His would-be disciples: “What do you want?” In this reflection on Psalm 1, John Ortberg explores why that may be one of the most important questions we ever answer. Our lives have a way of organizing themselves around our deepest desires. How do you spend your time? Your money? What makes you angry? What are you willing to sacrifice for? Those things often reveal what we want more accurately than ou...
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  67. Why Today is a Good Day to Die 25.08.2026 14min

  Today is a good day to die. Which means it's a good day to come alive. In this reflection on Psalm 51, John Ortberg explores an old Christian word that doesn't get used much anymore: mortification. It sounds miserable. But properly understood, mortification isn't about becoming miserable. It's about becoming free. John describes two selves within us: the impulsive self, driven by whatever we happen to want right now, and the valuing self, shaped by what we most deeply believe matters: love, j...
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  66. You Were Made for GREAT Joy 24.08.2026 11min

  You were made for great joy...but what do you do when you don't feel particularly joyful? In this reflection on Psalm 47, John Ortberg explores a surprisingly practical answer: Do something joyful. Sing. Clap. Dance. Go outside. Listen to birds. Look into the face of someone you love. Maybe even skip. The Psalms weren't merely written to be read. They were meant to be sung. Drawing from William Law and the James-Lange theory of emotion, John explores the fascinating relationship bet...
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  65. The Right Way to Start Your Day 21.08.2026 12min

  What's the right way to wake up? In this reflection on Psalm 5, John Ortberg continues the daily rhythm begun in Psalm 4. Evening is the time of peace. Morning is the time of hope. And don't worry: you don't have to become a morning person. John explores how Psalm 5 gives us a practical way to begin an ordinary day with God, even when we wake up carrying heavy burdens, difficult circumstances, or unanswered questions. Drawing from the ancient Christian invitation Sursum corda, “Lift up ...
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  64. The Right Way to Go to Sleep 20.08.2026 12min

  Did you know the Bible gives us a way to go to sleep? In this reflection on Psalm 4, John Ortberg explores what sleep can teach us about surrender, control, prayer, and trusting God. Drawing from Answering God, John points out a fascinating biblical rhythm: evening comes before morning. Genesis says, “There was evening, and there was morning.” Sabbath begins at sundown. Psalm 4 gives us an evening prayer before Psalm 5 gives us a morning prayer. Why? Because before we wake up, accomplish anyt...
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  63. How to Pray to Change Your Life 19.08.2026 10min

  What if you prayed the Psalms as if they could really help? In this reflection on Psalm 30, John Ortberg explores the difference between simply reciting Scripture and allowing its words to become our own prayer. John shares the story of Rabbi Plotkin, whose life seemed to be falling apart. His marriage was ending. His future felt uncertain. Fear and self-pity had taken over. Then one morning, as he prepared to say the same prayers he'd prayed for decades, he challenged himself: “Don't pra...