Become New with John Ortberg

What if the key to deeper gratitude isn’t feeling more deserving but realizing you’re not? In this episode, John explores how a posture of humility can unlock a powerful sense of gratitude, joy, and connection to God. Drawing on stories from real life, Scripture, and thinkers like Dallas Willard and Ronald Rolheiser, we learn why everything we have is a gift… and how remembering that can change yo...

What does a sunflower know about your spiritual life? In this episode, John Ortberg reflects on how turning toward the light, just like sunflowers do, is the key to real spiritual growth. Drawing on Paul Tournier’s insights and powerful scripture like 1 John 1:5 (“God is light…”), we explore how to shift our inner posture toward God's presence even in darkness. Whether you're stuck in sh...

What does it really mean to “seek first the kingdom of God”? In this message, John walks us through one of Jesus’ most famous teachings (Matthew 6:33) and unpacks how seeking the kingdom is not about adding another spiritual task to your to-do list, but about tuning your eyes and heart to the loving presence of God in everyday moments. Whether you're parenting young kids, navigating work stre...

In this episode, John Ortberg explores the story of Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment. A man whose pride and guilt nearly destroy him and how his journey mirrors our own. Through the lens of Scripture and soul-searching questions, we discover the dangerous trap of self-justification and the radical gift of grace. If you’ve ever felt crushed by your mistakes or isolated by your ego, this one’s...

In today’s episode, John Ortberg explores one of the most surprising spiritual invitations Jesus offers: not try harder, but try softer. When your efforts lead to exhaustion, and faith feels forced, there’s another way. Learn what it means to walk with Jesus under the easy yoke, to trust the Spirit’s gentle power, and to release the illusion of control. You’ll hear stories, practical wisdom, and b...

Your character is being shaped right now. In this episode, John Ortberg invites you to consider the quiet truth we all feel: we’re always becoming someone. Whether it’s intentional or accidental, today you will change. Drawing from Matthew 6:33 and insights from C.S. Lewis, this teaching explores how to seek first the Kingdom of God in a world of noise, distraction, and drift. If you’ve ever felt...

What do you do when the pain lingers but forgiveness still calls your name? In this powerful and honest teaching, John Ortberg explores the emotional and spiritual complexities of forgiving when you've been deeply hurt. Drawing from Scripture, real-life stories, and spiritual practices, this episode dives into what forgiveness really is and what it’s not. Learn how to forgive without forgetti...

The habits you already have are shaping who you’re becoming, whether you mean them to or not. In this episode, John Ortberg shares how small, ordinary routines can become sacred rhythms that turn your attention back to God. Transformation doesn’t start with willpower; it starts with what you practice every day. Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time. TEXT US at 855-888-0...

Is God really in control… or just controlling? In this powerful message, John Ortberg explores the surprising truth about God’s relationship to control and how it invites us into a life of freedom, trust, and creativity. If you’ve ever wrestled with anxiety, the need to manage everything, or the fear of letting go, this episode is for you. Learn how to release your grip, listen to the Spirit, and...

In a culture obsessed with filters, fitness hacks, and endless self-critique, this episode invites you into something far deeper: radical acceptance. What if your body isn’t a problem to fix but a place where God delights to dwell? Join John Ortberg as he unpacks a spiritual (and countercultural) approach to loving the body you have, not in spite of it, but because it's a gift from God. Learn...

We talk a lot about mental health these days, and that’s a good thing.  But what if there’s something even deeper we’re missing? In this reflection, John explores why peace of mind, while valuable, was never meant to be life’s ultimate goal and looks at a forgotten truth about what it really means to flourish as a human being and why the deepest kind of wellness can’t be measured by how we feel. B...

“God will meet all your needs…” You’ve probably heard that line before, maybe hanging in a frame or scribbled in a journal. But what did Paul really mean when he wrote it from a prison cell to a struggling church? In this episode, we close out the letter to the Philippians by looking at one of the most quoted (and misunderstood) verses in Scripture. What does it actually mean for God to meet our n...

Paul is writing from a world where generosity was often about power, the rich giving so the poor would owe them something. But in this new Jesus-shaped community, giving is about love. Gratitude is real. Generosity is mutual. And God is the true source of provision; not status, not wealth, not self-actualization. Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time. TEXT US at 855-888...

What if the secret to joy isn’t more but less? John and Nancy reflect on a lighthouse keeper’s sacred task (watcher of the infinite) and draw a striking parallel to our own spiritual calling. Contentment, Nancy says, is elusive. You find it, lose it, and have to find your way back...maybe 76 times a day. But contentment comes not from how much we have, but where we look. The invitation is to scan...

Paul’s strong language in Philippians 3 might be surprising to our modern sensibilities, “Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers…” It sounds harsh, but his concern runs deep. He’s warning the church against turning something good, faith, into something harmful. Religion, when distorted, can divide people into “us” and “them.” When we start to see ourselves as God’s insiders and others as outsid...

As we continue to talk about Philippians it’s important to remember that chapter 4 doesn’t stop at “thinking on these things.” Paul takes it a step further, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice.” Faith is not just a way of thinking; it’s a way of living, choosing, and acting. Paul invites us into a life that moves beyond contemplation into ac...

Today, John talks about how Paul understood that we cannot live a life of peace and joy without first tending to the garden of our thoughts. If our thinking is careless, our living will be reactive and restless. But when our minds are filled with truth and beauty, our lives begin to reflect the light of Christ. Stories like those of heroes in Saving Private Ryan or the humble villagers in Lest Inn...

Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6-7 invite us to bring our worries to God — not to control outcomes, but to open our hearts. John shares how Jerry Hawthorne, Dallas Willard, and Joni Eareckson Tada each taught that prayer is a conversation with a Person, not a formula for results. Through Joni’s example, John introduces the 80/20 rule of prayer. True peace comes not from fixing every circumstance, b...

Feeling overwhelmed by anxiety and the need to control everything? In this powerful episode, John Ortberg sits down with clinical psychologist and spiritual leader Dr. Rick Blackmon to unpack Philippians 4:6—“Do not be anxious about anything.” Together, they explore the difference between healthy planning and harmful preoccupation, how to build a tolerance for uncertainty, and why surrendering con...

This is your day to shine. Paul writes to the Philippians, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” It’s a quality so central to the heart of Jesus that he chose it as the word to describe himself: “I am gentle and humble in heart.” Paul would have known how radical that sounded. He’d grown up admiring zeal, the kind that would do anything or go to any length to defend God’s honor. For Paul, zeal...

The basic message of the Bible from the beginning is the offer of a life with God. This was true in the garden with Adam and Eve, it was true with Abraham, it was true with Moses, with Ruth, with Joseph, with Jacob, and on and on. And it doesn’t stop there. He is present with you, right now. Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time. TEXT US at 855-888-0444 EMAIL US at conn...

In today’s video, we’re joined by Pastor Steve Clifford to talk about this concept and how it’s played out in his own life. Steve talks about how “whatever happens” has been an anchoring concept for him as he’s walked through loss and transition. He works not to manufacture shining, but to simply live with confidence that God is shaping his life. Operating this way is a daily choice to trust that...

In today’s devo, John talks about Jerry Hawthorne, a beloved teacher and mentor, and how he described Paul’s teaching on joy as more than a mood; it is a worldview. True joy is not about forcing a smile or pretending everything is fine. It is a peace-filled posture toward life that accepts both hardship and blessing with trust in God’s presence. This joy stands as “defiant nevertheless,” an attitu...

The way of reconciliation is one Jesus exemplified in his life and love. In today’s devo, John talks about a story of feuding families in Ireland who literally “chanced their arm” through a cathedral door as a picture of the courage it takes to risk vulnerability for the sake of peace. Reconciliation is not about proving who is right or wrong, it’s about remembering the shared humanity of the othe...

In today’s devo John talks about how this shift in perception is at the core of the Good Samaritan story. Two religious leaders saw a problem when they looked at a man beaten by robbers, but the Samaritan saw a person in need. He thought differently, felt compassion, and acted with mercy. Today, we are invited to “put on new glasses,” not artificial intelligence but Heavenly intelligence. By askin...