Become New with John Ortberg

Why is gratitude so difficult to sustain?

In this teaching on Psalm 100, John Ortberg explores the deeper source of genuine gratitude and why thankfulness cannot simply be forced through willpower.

Using reflections from Robert Hayden and his poem Those Winter Sundays, John reflects on the hidden acts of love that quietly sustain human life every day — often without being noticed or thanked.

This episode explores:
- Why gratitude begins with awareness
- The hidden acts of love around us
- Psalm 100 and worship
- “Know that the Lord, He is God”
- Gratitude, creation, and ordinary beauty
- Learning to “connect the dots” back to God

This is a thoughtful, moving reflection on gratitude, worship, attention, and the goodness of God.

Scriptures:
- Psalm 100
- Genesis 3 (allusion)
- John 10 imagery

Resources referenced:
- Those Winter Sundays — Robert Hayden

#Psalm100 #JohnOrtberg #Gratitude #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #Thankfulness #Worship #BibleStudy #Psalms

📚 Today's Resources:
Robert Hayden, “Those Winter Sundays”

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
EMAIL US at [email protected]

GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team
DOWNLOAD FREE STUDY GUIDES: BecomeNew.com/study-guides

😊 Join Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CnqywVp9s/
🤳Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/become.new/

Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Introduction & Praying Gratitude
00:24 Psalm 100 & Childhood Memory Contest
01:02 Why Gratitude Cannot Be Forced
01:21 What Comes Before Gratitude
01:52 Robert Hayden’s “Those Winter Sundays”
03:04 “Love’s Austere and Lonely Offices”
03:40 Hidden Acts of Love We Miss
04:41 Gratitude Begins With Awareness
05:10 “Make a Joyful Noise”
05:48 “Know That the Lord, He Is God”
06:06 The Temptation to Be Like God
06:25 “I Got to Have a Life”
06:42 We Are the Sheep of His Pasture
07:12 “Connect the Dots” Back to God
07:56 “The Lord Is Good”
08:18 Ordinary Gifts & Everyday Glory
08:54 Jesus & the Lonely Offices of Love
09:13 Gratitude Overflowing Into Service

Why would God include violent prayers in the Bible?
In this deeply challenging teaching on Psalm 137, John Ortberg explores anger, injustice, enemies, suffering, and why the Psalms are far more emotionally honest than most modern spirituality.

John begins with a provocative statement:
 “You should stop having a quiet time.”

Using reflections from Eugene Peterson, this episode explores the difference between prayer that merely calms us down and prayer that honestly confronts evil, grief, and the brokenness of the world.

This episode explores:
- Why Psalm 137 feels so disturbing
- The role of anger and indignation
- Why suppressed hatred is spiritually dangerous
- Prayer as honesty before God
- Jesus, enemy-love, and the Psalms
- “Our hate needs to be prayed, not suppressed”

Featuring reflections on:
- Eugene Peterson
- C.S. Lewis
- René Girard

Scriptures:
- Psalm 137
- Ephesians 6:12
- Matthew 5:44

#Psalm137 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #Psalms #EugenePeterson #Justice #Forgiveness #BibleStudy

📚 Today's Resources:
Eugene H. Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms As Tools for Prayer 
René Girard, The Scapegoat 

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
EMAIL US at [email protected]

GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team
DOWNLOAD FREE STUDY GUIDES: BecomeNew.com/study-guides

😊 Join Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CnqywVp9s/
🤳Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/become.new/

Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Introduction: “Stop Having a Quiet Time”
00:25 Eugene Peterson on Pseudo-Prayer
01:30 “Prayer Is Combat”
02:26 Why the Psalms Talk So Much About Enemies
03:11 Enter Psalm 137
04:10 “How Can We Sing in a Foreign Land?”
04:38 The Most Disturbing Verse in the Psalm
05:13 Why This Psalm Shocks Modern Readers
05:36 The Psalms Refuse Sanitized Spirituality
06:00 Two Kinds of Violence in the Psalms
06:40 René Girard, Victims & Scapegoats
07:08 Indignation, Anger & Injustice
08:06 Why People Want These Psalms Removed
09:03 “Our Hate Needs to Be Prayed”
09:55 Suppressed Anger & False Spirituality
10:18 Jesus, Enemy Love & the Psalms
11:23 Dare to Be Real With God

Why do we avoid uncomfortable truth?

In this teaching on Psalm 42, John Ortberg explores self-awareness, attention, distraction, procrastination, and the deep spiritual thirst at the center of the human soul.

Using Psalm 42’s famous image — “As the deer pants for streams of water…” — John reflects on how human beings often distract themselves from the deeper realities happening inside them. Why do we avoid certain thoughts? Why do difficult truths fade when we procrastinate? And what does prayer have to do with attention?

This episode explores:
- The soul’s longing for God
- Why humans avoid painful truth
- Self-deception and attention management
- Procrastination as a spiritual issue
- The relationship between awareness and transformation
- “The greatest freedom of human life”

Featuring reflections from:
- William James
- Flannery O’Connor
- Gregg Ten Elshof

Scripture:
- Psalm 42

#Psalm42 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #SelfAwareness #ChristianFaith #Psychology #Attention #BibleStudy #Psalms

📚 Today's Resources:
Gregg A. Ten Elshof, I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life 
Flannery O’Connor, The Violent Bear It Away 

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
EMAIL US at [email protected]

GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team
DOWNLOAD FREE STUDY GUIDES: BecomeNew.com/study-guides

😊 Join Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CnqywVp9s/
🤳Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/become.new/

Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Introduction
00:26 Psalm 42 & the Problem of Being Real
01:08 Why the Psalms Speak to the Soul
01:31 Awareness, Choice & the Human Will
02:19 “As the Deer Pants for Water”
03:18 Pouring Out the Soul Before God
04:04 “Why Are You Downcast, O My Soul?”
04:38 Flannery O’Connor & Avoiding Truth
06:18 William James on Attention & Experience
06:48 The Sneaky Power of Attention Management
07:09 The Greatest Freedom of Human Life
08:21 Forgetting Painful Experiences
09:12 Procrastination & Self-Deception
10:52 Why Moral Convictions Fade Over Time
11:26 “Help Me See What I’ve Been Avoiding”
11:54 Deep Calls to Deep

Why is self-awareness so difficult?

In this teaching on Psalm 19, John Ortberg explores self-deception, blind spots, hidden faults, and the surprising difficulty of honestly seeing ourselves.

The Psalmist asks:
 “Who can discern their own errors?”

That question launches a fascinating exploration of:
- Freud and the unconscious mind
- Cognitive bias and self-deception
- Why humans protect their image
- The role of feedback and mirrors
- Spiritual growth through honesty
- Grace, confession, and healing

This episode explores how Scripture and modern psychology intersect around one central truth: human beings are remarkably good at hiding truth from themselves.

And yet real freedom begins when we become willing to see.

Scriptures:
- Psalm 19:12–14
- Romans 1
- Obadiah 1:3

Resources mentioned:
- Freud
- George Eliot
- Gregg Ten Elshof
- Awakenings

#psalm19  #JohnOrtberg #SelfAwareness #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #Psychology #Prayer #BibleStudy #BlindSpots #Psalms

📚 Today's Resources:
George Eliot, Middlemarch 
Gregg A. Ten Elshof, I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life 

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
EMAIL US at [email protected]

GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team
DOWNLOAD FREE STUDY GUIDES: BecomeNew.com/study-guides

😊 Join Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CnqywVp9s/
🤳Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/become.new/

Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Introduction & Mirror Thumbnail Idea
00:09 Psalm 19 & the Problem of Self-Awareness
00:30 “Forgive My Hidden Faults”
00:58 The Problem With Unconscious Behavior
01:19 Freud, Depth Psychology & the Iceberg Mind
02:08 What Freud Got Wrong About Trauma
02:58 Memory Wars & Self-Deception
03:17 The Hidden Layers Beneath Consciousness
03:52 George Eliot & “Confessing to Ourselves”
04:16 The Four Levels of Consciousness
05:00 Skydiving & Stress-Induced Memory Gaps
05:57 Peripheral Awareness & Hidden Faults
06:31 Self-Deception in Modern Psychology
06:58 Romans 1 & Suppressing the Truth
07:25 The Self-Serving Bias Explained
08:16 The Fundamental Attribution Error
09:03 Everyday Self-Deception & Rationalization
09:53 Praying “Help Me See the Truth”
10:19 Reviewing the Day With Honesty
11:02 Why We Manage Other People’s Opinions
11:35 Freud, Sin & the Depth of Self-Deception
12:01 Inviting Other People to Help Us Grow
12:39 “Would You Tell Me More?”
13:23 Closing Prayer From Psalm 19:14

What does bowling have to do with spiritual life?

In this teaching on Psalm 19, John Ortberg explores anxiety, surrender, creation, grace, and the deep human longing for soul rest.

Using a surprisingly powerful bowling illustration, John reflects on how most people continue trying to control outcomes long after the “ball” has already left their hands. Psalm 19 offers another way: let go, trust God, delight in creation, and allow your soul to rest.

This episode explores:
- Why modern people struggle with rest
- The connection between anxiety and control
- Creation as medicine for the soul
- Why the law of God is actually a gift
- Soul fragmentation and divided living
- How love restores wholeness

Featuring reflections on:
- Dallas Willard
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Martin Luther
- Psalm 19

Scriptures:
-Psalm 19
-Matthew 22:37–39
-James 2:8

#Psalm19 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #DallasWillard #SoulRest #Anxiety #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Psalms

📚 Today's Resources:
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ 
The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, edited by Clifton Fadiman

🙌 New episodes every weekday.
📲 Subscribe, like, and share to help others grow spiritually. One day at a time.

Become New is here to help you grow spiritually one day at a time.
TEXT us at 51504
EMAIL US at [email protected]

GET OUR WEEKDAY EMAILS WITH EXTRA GOODIES at becomenew.com/subscribe
GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
SEND US PRAYER REQUESTS: via text or email; we'll send you a written prayer from our team
DOWNLOAD FREE STUDY GUIDES: BecomeNew.com/study-guides

😊 Join Our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1CnqywVp9s/
🤳Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/become.new/

Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 Introduction & Bowling Thumbnail Idea
00:14 Psalm 19, Soul Rest & the Gift of Law
01:02 “The Heavens Declare the Glory of God”
01:23 Creation, Perspective & the Human Soul
02:16 Running Life Like a Champion
02:37 Dallas Willard on Soul Rest
03:44 What Bowling Teaches Us About Anxiety
04:31 “Let the Ball Go”
04:55 Teddy Roosevelt & Becoming Small Enough
05:50 Creation as an Expression of God’s Mind
06:09 Why Nature Is Good for the Soul
06:40 Psalm 19’s Surprising Pivot to Law
07:14 “The Law of the Lord Is Perfect”
07:22 Why Modern People Resist the Law
07:56 Law, Grace & Human Flourishing
08:38 What Makes a Good Person?
09:14 Why Humanity Has Revered Wise Laws
09:40 Sweeter Than Honey, More Precious Than Gold
10:09 The Royal Law of Love
10:39 How Sin Fractures the Soul
10:57 The Law Revives the Soul
11:25 Delighting in God’s Big Book & Little Book