Become New with John Ortberg

Why does telling yourself “Don’t do it” sometimes leave you stuck on the very thing you want to avoid? John Ortberg uses a golf analogy to explore the thoughts shaping our character and a simple way to invite God into everyday life. In episode six of Become New’s series on sin, the seven deadly sins, and grace, John traces the framework’s history through Peter Jones’s Self-Help from the Middle Ages. He considers sin as distorted love, Dante’s compassionate confrontation with human weakness, a...

Sin isn’t only about the wrong things we do. It’s also about the good we leave undone. John Ortberg explores the two kinds of sin, commission and omission, and the spiritual practices that help us address each. Drawing from Proverbs, James, and the teachings of Jesus, John explains how to strengthen your “don’t” and “do” muscles. He also introduces a surprising spiritual discipline: chatting. An ordinary conversation can become an opportunity to encourage, connect, and offer the right word at...

Do you really want the truth about yourself, or would you rather have it sugarcoated? John Ortberg explores why honest self-examination matters for spiritual growth and how knowing we are loved gives us the courage to face what needs to change. In episode two of Become New’s series on sin, the seven deadly sins, and grace, John draws on Dallas Willard, Peter Jones’s Self-Help from the Middle Ages, and a story about Wendell Berry as a demanding writing teacher. He considers Jesus’ hard words t...

Why do AA meetings sometimes feel like the safest place to tell the truth? And what could the church learn from that kind of honesty, acceptance, and shared dependence on God? In this episode, John Ortberg explores how the 12 Steps can help us approach spiritual growth, stubborn habits, and the struggles we keep trying to overcome alone. Whether you’re wrestling with anger, fear, control, greed, or the familiar gap between who you want to be and how you actually live, the invitation begins wi...

What do you say to yourself when you make a mistake? For many of us, one wrong answer, awkward conversation, or disappointing performance can turn into a harsh verdict about who we are. John Ortberg offers a different response, borrowed from conductor Benjamin Zander: “How fascinating!” Through stories about music, tutoring, Eugene Peterson, and the disciple Peter, John explores how a growth mindset helps us approach mistakes with curiosity and a willingness to learn. Instead of constantly a...

Can you lead with authority and still be genuinely vulnerable? Many of us treat those qualities as opposites. If we want to be strong, we assume we need to protect ourselves from being hurt. But in this conversation with Alan George, John Ortberg offers another picture of leadership. Drawing on Andy Crouch’s Strong and Weak, John explains that authority and vulnerability are two distinct qualities. Jesus held both. He acted with authority and willingly opened himself to pain for the sake of l...

What do you do when God seems absent from your story? Maybe you still pray, read Scripture, and show up, but the closeness you once felt is gone. Does that mean you’ve done something wrong? Has God left? John Ortberg explores those questions through John of the Cross, the sixteenth-century spiritual writer associated with the phrase dark night of the soul. John explains that this phrase can mean something more specific than a difficult season: a time when the pleasure and reassurance so...

Is there a habit you keep trying to break, or one you wish you could finally build? You’re in good company. When John Ortberg asked the Become New community about their habits, more than a thousand people responded. They named struggles with worry, anger, procrastination, screen time, negative self-talk, and much more. Some felt too ashamed even to say what their hardest habit was. Into that struggle, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you res...

What happens when someone really listens to you? In this special bonus episode, John Ortberg sits down with Become New Creative Director Jackson Lane, who shares a story about a childhood stuffed animal, a remarkable ninth-grade teacher, and one small act of kindness he still remembers nearly 15 years later. The story leads John to a beautiful idea about the way God loves us: there is a kind of love that looks for value, and another kind of love that creates value by treasuring what it love...

Thank you for being part of Become New, a global community growing spiritually in Christ, one day at a time. With an impromptu message from John, filmed on his iPhone in the Grand Tetons, this video is a personal thank-you for being part of this community—and an invitation to help make this work possible. Your generosity helps our small team create and share daily Bible teaching, prayer, study guides, YouVersion Bible plans, The Formation Podcast and Newsletter, and masterclasses—all freely...

Your life was made to be a Psalm. As this journey through the Psalms draws toward its close, John Ortberg reflects on where the Psalter has been leading us all along. Psalm 1 begins by asking what kind of life we will live. The Psalms then carry us through fear, anger, grief, confession, hope, and joy. But the final five Psalms end in an explosion of one thing: Praise. In Psalm 148, everything is invited into the song: people, animals, mountains, stars, sun, moon, even the creatures of the se...

Suffering can do one of two things: break us or break us open. Beginning with Frederick Buechner's unforgettable image, John Ortberg explores Psalm 110 and one of the deepest ways Christians have read the Psalms: seeing the story of Jesus in their suffering, longing, and hope. Drawing from C.S. Lewis, Plato, and the mysterious biblical figure Melchizedek, John looks at how Jesus brings together two ancient hopes: the victorious king and the suffering servant. Jesus doesn't overcome suffering ...

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,...