Become New with John Ortberg

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 loves.

Sometimes loving another person begins with something surprisingly simple:

Listen. Let it register. Respond.

Who in your life needs to know that what matters to them matters to you?

#JohnOrtberg #BecomeNew #Psalms #SpiritualFormation #Love #Relationships

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

00:00 A Personal Bonus From the Psalms
00:24 God Is a Father to the Fatherless
00:44 The Way Jesus Treated Children
01:24 The Power of Really Listening
01:50 Jackson's Favorite Teacher
02:13 Writing Is Structured Thinking
02:43 The Story of Carla
03:06 The Pound Puppy Jackson Loved
03:30 A Stuffed Animal Worn Out With Love
03:48 Jackson Loses Carla
04:05 “The Dog Was Gone”
04:24 Telling Mr. Webber the Story
04:41 “I Was Too Old for a Stuffed Animal Anyway”
05:05 A Mysterious Package on the Porch
05:21 He Found the Exact Dog
05:45 “Childhood Dreams Should Never Be Lost”
06:06 Why Jackson Never Forgot It
06:28 Someone Saw What Mattered to Him
06:52 Where Carla Jr. Is Today 🥹
07:10 When You Love What Someone Else Loves
07:29 Two Different Kinds of Love
07:59 A Picture of How God Loves Us
08:21 Listen. Let It Register. Respond.
08:30 That's It 😂

Today we're revisiting an episode from SHINE, our walk through the book of Philippians. And there's a reason we're bringing this one back: we've just launched a new Bible reading plan on the Bible App based on the SHINE series. So if today's teaching is helpful to you and you'd like to go deeper, you can now walk through the whole series one day at a time in the Bible App.

What if there were a law of the spiritual world as dependable as gravity?

In Philippians 2, Jesus doesn't grasp for power. He lets go. He becomes a servant. He humbles himself all the way to the cross.

Then everything reverses.

God exalts him.

John Ortberg explores what this reveals about the deepest pattern of reality: the way up is down, greatness comes through service, and self-giving love is always worth it.

So when love gets costly, when you're tempted to self-promote, or when failure and guilt overwhelm you, remember the strategy:

Double down on the cross.

And remember the phrase:

Jesus Christ is Lord.

This is how we shine.

#JohnOrtberg #Philippians2 #Jesus #SpiritualFormation #TheCross #Christianity

Music in this episode: 
Starry Dream - Uptempo by A. Blomqvist MB01OKHAB5EAUXF

00:00 What’s Most Important to Believe About Jesus?
00:22 The Oldest Words About Jesus
00:54 The Great Christ Hymn
01:35 Every Knee Will Bow
02:18 Jesus Goes Down, God Lifts Him Up
02:44 What Goes Down Must Come Up
03:07 The Hinge of Human History
03:28 A Law of God’s Kingdom
03:52 God Exalts Those Who Humble Themselves
04:14 Love Is Always Worth It
04:38 What Does It Mean to Double Down?
04:56 Jesus Doubles Down on the Cross
05:18 Double Down When You Feel Like a Failure
05:39 Stop Chasing Money and Reputation
06:23 The Most Important Phrase You Can Say
06:45 Jesus Christ Is Lord
07:19 Caesar vs. a Crucified Rabbi
07:49 Peter, Paul, Mary…and Nero 😂
08:16 Power Always Fades
08:49 A Calendar Built Around Jesus
09:18 The Wheel of Fortune
09:34 Nero, Napoleon & Stalin
10:07 Every Date Points Back to Jesus
10:31 The Spiritual Law of the Cross
10:55 What Lies at the Heart of Reality
11:17 Stop Trying to Promote Yourself
11:45 Become a Servant in the Next Moment
11:59 Jesus Christ Is Lord
12:08 That’s How We Shine

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 available to help people put Christ in charge of their spiritual formation.

If Become New has made a difference in your life, would you consider a one-time gift or becoming a monthly supporter? Every gift helps us continue this work and reach more people with resources for growing in Christ.

❤️ Partner with us: BecomeNew.com/give

Whether you give, pray, share a teaching, or join us each day, we’re grateful you’re here.
With GREAT gratitude,

The Become New Team

#BecomeNew #SpiritualFormation #GrowInChrist

Why did Frodo need Gollum?
Coming to you from Hobbiton, New Zealand, John Ortberg explores one of the deepest themes running through J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings:
Mercy.
Bilbo could have killed Gollum. Frodo could have killed him. Sam could have killed him.
But pity stayed their hands.
And when Frodo finally reaches Mount Doom, something surprising happens: he fails. His own willpower isn't enough to destroy the ring.
Yet the mercy extended to Gollum earlier in the story follows Frodo all the way to the end.
“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”
Maybe we need mercy because none of us can save ourselves.
And maybe there's a Gollum somewhere in your day who needs mercy too.
#LordOfTheRings #Tolkien #JohnOrtberg #Hobbiton #Psalm23 #Mercy #Gollum

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

00:00 John Ortberg in New Zealand
 00:25 Welcome to Hobbiton!
 00:44 A Special Edition From the Shire
 01:12 Gollum, Frodo & the One Ring
 01:48 Why Bilbo Didn't Kill Gollum
 02:18 “What a Pity”
 02:43 Gandalf's Warning About Judgment
 03:10 Gollum Still Has a Role to Play
 03:36 Two Kinds of Pity
 03:55 Mercy in The Lord of the Rings
 04:19 Frodo Begins to Pity Gollum
 04:39 What the Ring Does to a Person
 05:08 Gollum Was Once Sméagol
 05:38 What Gollum Represents
 06:07 Frodo Reaches Mount Doom
 06:31 Frodo Fails
 06:58 Why Gollum Had to Survive
 07:34 Mercy Followed Frodo
 08:00 This Isn't a Story About Willpower
 08:17 We Can't Save Ourselves
 08:46 There Will Be a Gollum in Your Life
 09:18 “This Is a Being Like Me”
 09:40 Let Mercy Follow You
 10:06 From Hobbiton to All You Little Hobbits 😂

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 sea.
And so are you.
Maybe a life with God isn't about escaping the messiness of being human. Maybe it's about learning to bring all of it before God until our lives themselves become a song.
Hallelujah.
#Psalm148 #JohnOrtberg #Psalms #Praise #Hallelujah #SpiritualFormation
STEPS SEMINAR, October 17th - REGISTER HERE:
https://www.oceanhills.org/event/steps-workshop-with-john-ortberg
🙌 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 Coming to the End of the Psalms
 00:30 What's Coming Next at Become New
 00:59 The STEPS Seminar
 01:19 What the Psalms Have Taught Me
 01:56 From Wisdom to Praise
 02:20 Psalm 148
 02:41 All Creation Is Invited to Praise
 03:14 You Couldn't Get More Inclusive
 03:43 Make Every Breath Worth Celebrating
 04:10 Duets on the Psalms
 04:16 Two Very Different Worship Services
 04:58 Which One Would the Psalmist Prefer?
 05:28 Two Revolutionary Ideas From Genesis
 05:57 Every Human Being Bears God's Image
 06:19 Why Democracy Needs Both Equality and Humility
 06:43 Nature Isn't God
 07:11 Nature Was Made to Worship
 07:36 We Sang Before We Spoke
 08:00 What We've Lost About Music
 08:24 Music Was Made to Be Shared
 08:44 The Loneliest Whale on Earth
 09:10 Even the Lonely Whale Is Heard
 09:59 The One Word for Today
 10:24 We Were Made to Sing
 10:48 Your Life Was Made to Be a Psalm
 11:12 What Hallelujah Really Means
 11:37 What John Is Grateful For
 11:53 And So Were You
 12:11 Hallelujah!