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Become New with John Ortberg

Become New with John Ortberg

81. Two Kinds of Commitment. Only One Transforms You.

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:

Vikersund by RØRE - MB01V0UASAACPKE

Alta by RØRE - MB01IWZVJASGKHF


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

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