Become New with John Ortberg

What if lasting spiritual transformation isn't about trying harder?

In this opening episode of our Become New series, John Ortberg introduces Dallas Willard's classic The Renovation of the Heart and explores Jesus' invitation to become people whose lives are transformed from the inside out. Rather than focusing on behavior modification, this conversation examines the deeper renovation of the heart, the nature of spiritual thirst, and the promise of living water that satisfies our deepest longings.

If you've ever felt stuck, spiritually dry, or frustrated by repeated attempts to change yourself, this episode offers a hopeful vision of how genuine transformation happens through life with Jesus.

Subscribe for the rest of this 15-part journey through The Renovation of the Heart as we explore what it truly means to become new.

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Music Credits:
Welcome to the World by Sarah Watson, License #MB01LXS9AQLSJGH

This episode was originally released in January 2022.
Find all episodes from this series (Become New) here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3Egad-Un8UFQxspz4fgd8L6D3GUFridT

For more from Dallas Willard check out The Dallas Willard Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373226 

00:00 Introduction
01:18 Why We Struggle to Change
03:34 Jesus' Two Greatest Priorities
05:55 Becoming People of Love
07:50 Introducing Dallas Willard
10:25 The Invitation Into Another World
14:08 Living Beyond Spiritual Thirst
18:10 Transformation vs. Behavior Modification
21:35 Life in the Desert
25:48 The Invitation to Become New
28:10 Final Encouragement

Why is comparison so hard to escape?

In this reflection on Psalm 37, John Ortberg explores the hidden power of envy and why it quietly robs us of joy, gratitude, and peace.

Drawing on insights from Rebecca Konyndyk DeYoung, John explains the difference between jealousy and envy, why comparison always leaves us feeling deficient, and how God's care frees us from measuring our lives against everyone else's.

This episode explores:
- Psalm 37 and overcoming envy
- Why comparison is so destructive
- The difference between jealousy and envy
- Biblical stories of envy
- Social media and the comparison trap
- Living each day under God's loving care

Scriptures:
- Psalm 37
- Genesis 4
- Genesis 25–30
- Genesis 37
- Matthew 5:5

#Psalm37 #JohnOrtberg #Envy #Comparison #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Contentment #Faith

📚 Today's Resources:
Rebecca Konyndyk De Young, Glittering Vices: A New Look at the Seven Deadly Sins and Their Remedies 
Victor Hugo, “L’Avarice et L’Envie,” Le Conservateur littéraire (1819)
Pope St. Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job (~580 CE)
Francis Bacon, “Of Envy” (1625)
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., “Harrison Bergeon,” The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction

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

 00:00 Comparison Is Stealing Your Joy
 00:36 Psalm 37 Begins
 01:09 The External Solution to Envy
 01:32 Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron
 02:49 Why Equality Doesn't Cure Envy
 03:18 Living in God's Kingdom
 03:42 Don't Fret or Ruminate
 04:02 Delight Yourself in the Lord
 04:55 Jealousy vs. Envy
 05:48 Why God Is Jealous but Never Envious
 06:46 The Bible's Story of Envy
 07:33 Envy Begins With Deficiency
 08:05 An Envy Self-Assessment
 09:16 Victor Hugo's Story of Envy
 09:56 How Envy Shows Itself
 10:56 Social Media & Comparison
 11:32 Spending Your Days Under God's Care
 12:13 Live an Envy-Free Day

If God already knows everything...
why pray?

In this reflection on Psalm 74, John Ortberg wrestles with one of the oldest questions about prayer.

Can our prayers actually matter?

Drawing on insights from Walter Brueggemann and Dallas Willard, John explores the difference between the ancient philosophical idea of the "Unmoved Mover" and the God revealed in Scripture—the God who listens, responds, and is deeply moved by His people.

This episode explores:
- Psalm 74 and communal lament
- Psalms of orientation and disorientation
- Why the church needs lament
- God's unchanging character and responsive heart
- Dallas Willard's "Most Moved Mover"
- Why your prayers matter

Scriptures:
- Psalm 74

#psalm74  #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #WalterBrueggemann #DallasWillard #Lament #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #God

📚 Today's Resources:
Walter Brueggemann, Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit 
Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy 

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

 00:00 Does Prayer Change God?
 00:30 Why Pray If God Already Knows?
 01:24 Psalm 74 & Communal Lament
 02:03 Psalms of Orientation & Disorientation
 02:40 "Why Have You Rejected Us?"
 03:34 Remembering God's Faithfulness
 03:59 Walter Brueggemann on Lament
 05:25 The God Who Suffers With Us
 06:21 Is God Really Unchangeable?
 07:07 Dallas Willard's Community of Prayerful Love
 08:13 The Most Moved Mover
 09:00 The Unmoved Mover vs. the God of the Bible
 10:03 Jesus Reveals God's Heart
 11:03 Bring God Your Disorientation
 12:02 Enter Into Another Person's Lament

What if the cure for loneliness isn't finding more people... but learning to be alone?

In this reflection on Psalm 139, John Ortberg explores one of the deepest realities of being human: our longing to be fully known and never abandoned.

Drawing on the wisdom of Dallas Willard, John explains why we spend so much energy avoiding solitude—and why silence may actually become the place where we discover God's loving presence most deeply.

This episode explores:

Psalm 139 and being fully known by God
- The difference between aloneness and loneliness
- Why we distract ourselves with constant noise
- Dallas Willard's "strange cure for loneliness"
- Romans 8 and God's inseparable love
- How solitude leads to deeper community

Scriptures:
- Psalm 139
- Romans 8:35–39
- Hebrews 13:5

#Psalm139 #JohnOrtberg #DallasWillard #Loneliness #Solitude #Prayer #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #GodKnowsYou

📚 Today's Resources:
Dallas Willard, Hearing God 
Ludie Day Pickett, “Never Alone”
Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy  

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

00:00 The Strange Cure for Loneliness
00:30 Psalm 139 Begins
01:01 You Have Searched Me and Know Me
01:47 God Knows Every Moment
02:16 Even There, You Are Present
02:49 Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
03:23 Holding My Newborn Daughter
04:28 Dallas Willard's Story of Aloneness
05:17 The Human Condition of Being Alone
06:26 God Can Go Where No One Else Can
07:01 Never Alone
07:56 Why We Distract Ourselves
08:41 The Cure for Loneliness
09:19 Nothing Can Separate Us From God's Love
10:05 God Already Knows
10:33 Present to the Presence
11:06 Solitude Leads to Community
11:32 You Are Never Alone

What do you do when you feel completely forsaken?

In this reflection on Psalm 22, John Ortberg explores one of the most haunting prayers in all of Scripture:

"My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"

These are not only the words of the psalmist—they are the words Jesus prayed from the cross.

John explores the unique pain of abandonment, the difference between explanation and healing, and the remarkable hope hidden in one tiny word that many of us overlook:

"My."

This episode explores:
- Psalm 22 and the experience of forsakenness
- Why abandonment wounds so deeply
- Jesus' cry from the cross
- The man with the withered hand
- The difference between explanation and healing
- The hope found in belonging to God even in our darkest moments

Scriptures:
- Psalm 22
- Matthew 27
- Mark 15
- Mark 3
- Isaiah 53

#Psalm22 #JohnOrtberg #Prayer #Jesus #Cross #SpiritualFormation #ChristianFaith #BibleStudy #Hope #Suffering

📚 Today's Resources:
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri

🙌 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.
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GET A TEXT REMINDER FOR NEW VIDEOS: text NEW to 51504
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Music Credits:
Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE
Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF

00:00 The Deepest Prayer in Scripture
 00:36 Psalm 22 Begins
 01:21 What It Means to Be Forsaken
 02:09 Why Forsakenness Hurts So Deeply
 03:07 The Question That Won't Go Away
 04:06 It's a Cry for Healing
 04:43 The Man With the Withered Hand
 05:07 God-Forsaken
 06:20 The Fellowship of the Withered Hand
 06:52 Jesus Prays Psalm 22
 07:50 The Cross & Complete Forsakenness
 08:16 One Little Word Changes Everything
 08:50 "My God..."
 09:42 He Is Still My God
 10:18 Meeting Jesus in Our Deepest Pain
 11:06 When the Prayer Becomes Simply... "My God"