Become New with John Ortberg
Join John Ortberg each day for 10 minutes of spiritual guidance on the person we are becoming.
Episodes
1216 episodes
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 ...
57. This Psalm is Deeply Important to Me
What are you looking to for help today?In this reflection on Psalm 121, John Ortberg explores two simple actions that can make today a blessed day:God watches over us.We lift our eyes toward Him.But "I lift up my eye...
56. Why You Shouldn't Pray EVERY Psalm
Should you pray every line of every Psalm?In this reflection on Psalm 109, John Ortberg tackles one of the most difficult passages in the Bible—and offers one of the most freeing insights of the entire Psalms series.What do we d...
Following Jesus: The Pros and Cons (2022)
What does it really cost to follow Jesus?In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Jesus' most misunderstood invitations: "Count the cost." Drawing from Dallas Willard's The Renovation of the Heart, he explains why discipleship is n...
Freedom - Defined. (2022)
What if doing whatever you want doesn't actually make you free?In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Dallas Willard's most profound ideas from The Renovation of the Heart: true freedom isn't the ability to satisfy every desire. ...
Self-Improvement Just Can't Cut It (2022)
Is Christianity about becoming a better version of yourself?In this episode, John Ortberg explores one of Dallas Willard's most challenging and hope-filled ideas from The Renovation of the Heart: the ruined life isn't meant to be enhanc...