Become New with John Ortberg
Join John Ortberg each day for 10 minutes of spiritual guidance on the person we are becoming.
Episodes
1221 episodes
80. How to Get "Unstuck" in Praise
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 eventu...
79. What to Do When You’re Afraid
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?...
78. How to Not Waste Your Most Valuable Asset
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 att...
77. Finding Perspective Changes Everything
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, ...
76. What Dallas Willard Taught Us About Psalm 23 (w/Keith Matthews)
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, wh...
75. Life-Maxing? No, No, No...Try This Instead
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 Ortb...
74. The Number One Self-Care Solution
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 b...
73. Two Questions You Should Ask Yourself Every Day
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. 😂Bu...
72. Psalm 139, Gollum, and Finding Our Identity
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 wo...
71. Becoming Defensive Doesn't Help. Here's Why
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 in...
70. How to Keep Your Soul Healthy
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 Re...
69. The Glory and Burden of Potential
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...
68. This Question Will Guide Your Life
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 m...
67. Why Today is a Good Day to Die
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 mise...
66. You Were Made for GREAT Joy
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.
65. The Right Way to Start Your Day
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 wo...
64. The Right Way to Go to Sleep
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...
63. How to Pray to Change Your Life
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 st...
62. Finding God in the Dark Night of the Soul ("The Pit")
What do you do when you find yourself in the pit?In this reflection on Psalm 30, John Ortberg explores one of the Bible's most powerful metaphors for suffering: the pit, the depths, the darkness, Sheol.Sometimes the pit is grief...
61. Can God Heal Your Mind?
What do you do with the mess inside your mind?In this reflection on Psalm 102, John Ortberg explores how the Psalms can become a kind of divine therapy, teaching us to bring our actual thoughts, emotions, fears, and beliefs honestly int...
60. Understanding Biblical Contradictions
How do you deal with foolish people?The Bible gives a surprisingly complicated answer.In Proverbs 26:4 we're told:“Do not answer a fool according to his folly...”And then, in the very next verse:“Answer a fool ac...
59. The Noble Pursuit of Being Ordinary
What if the goal today isn't to make your life extraordinary?What if it's to learn how to see the extraordinary gift hidden inside the ordinary?In this reflection on Psalm 104, John Ortberg explores how modern life has changed the...
58. Pinocchio Theology (Getting Real)
Which version of you shows up when you pray?In this reflection on Psalm 55, John Ortberg explores a surprising truth about prayer: God doesn't want the cleaned-up, polished, "Disney version" of you. He wants the real you.The Psalms ...
