Become New with John Ortberg · Sep 14, 2026 · 13:28
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There are two kinds of commitments: contracts and covenants.
We need both. But John Ortberg explains why one can enhance your life while the other can actually transform it.
Beginning with Psalm 35, John explores the difference between transactional relationships and covenant relationships, from Casablanca to a remarkable moment in American history when Psalm 35 was read before the Continental Congress.
A contract protects individual rights.
A covenant creates a “we.”
And Scripture doesn't describe God as the God of contract. He is the God of covenant, inviting us into relationships built on something deeper than what we can get from one another.
So where might you be treating a covenant like a contract?
In this episode: Psalm 35 • covenant • commitment • relationships • American history • spiritual formation
#Psalm35 #JohnOrtberg #Covenant #Relationships #SpiritualFormation #Psalms
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Music Credits:
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00:00 Let's Try This Again 😂
00:22 Two Kinds of Commitment
00:54 One of Them Will Transform Your Life
01:09 Psalm 35
01:31 A Psalm That Changed American History
01:50 Rabbi Soloveichik's Discovery
02:14 Contract vs. Covenant
02:41 What a Covenant Does
03:08 When Relationships Become Transactions
03:21 God Is Not the God of Contract
03:54 What Casablanca Teaches About Covenant
04:40 Covenant Can Enrich Your Life
05:16 Covenant at Sinai
05:25 The Declaration vs. the Constitution
06:19 Benjamin Franklin Calls for Prayer
07:07 A Divided Continental Congress
08:02 Psalm 35 Is Read
08:28 John Adams's Stunning Reaction
08:53 A Psalm Prepared for That Moment
09:28 A Common Destiny
09:45 Three Lines That United a Room
10:10 Humble and Inspired
10:36 From Quarreling Delegates to “We”
10:58 The Psalms Belong to Humanity
11:24 It's Time to Cut a Covenant
11:45 A Contract Is Transactional. A Covenant Is Transformational
Episodes: Become New with John Ortberg