Time of Grace With Pastor Mike Novotny

Statistically, most, if not all, of us will have friends who are unfaithful in their marriages. When that happens, what should we do? How do we help when everything is so complex and so powerful and so emotional? How can we be good Christian friends when a friend chooses to cheat? What do we say to the friend who's been cheated on? This message speaks to the entire church as we seek to help some o...

Part 2 of 2. What do you do when your spouse broke your vows and your heart? Or if you were the one who ignored God’s voice and betrayed? How do couples recover from the pain, the shame, and the regret? Is there any hope after an affair? We live in a culture where one in five husbands will be unfaithful and one in eight wives will do the same. So, Pastor Mike says, as painful as it is, we need to...

Part 1 of 2. What do you do when your spouse broke your vows and your heart? Or if you were the one who ignored God’s voice and betrayed? How do couples recover from the pain, the shame, and the regret? Is there any hope after an affair? We live in a culture where one in five husbands will be unfaithful and one in eight wives will do the same. So, Pastor Mike says, as painful as it is, we need to...

Is it okay if couples—who aren't married but love one another—live together? In our 21st-century culture, it's not unusual for couples to look for certainty in compatibility by living together first; not to mention doing so also saves on rent, bills, and expenses. But what does God say? Does the Bible actually prohibit cohabitation? Pastor Mike wrestles with this real and relevant topic by asking...

God wants to see us happy in our marriages, so he gives us guidance through the Bible: Husbands must love their wives and be devoted to them. Wives must respect and submit to their husbands. And yet, despite God's instructions, happy homes and marriages are the exception, not the norm. Pastor Mike reminds us of seven specific commandments God gives to husbands and wives that can bring us closer to...

Marriage, living together before marriage, and adultery.  Pastor Mike takes a look at what God says about how to have happy and holy homes in his next sermon series, "God's Blueprint for a Happy Home." Pastor Mike and Amber preview this series and also find ways to discuss Pastor Mike's camping experience this summer, banana bread (and how it relates to healing after adultery), and Amber's favorit...

We live in a world of us vs. them, a culture of our people against their people. Such divisions are often the line where love stops, even among those who confess Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And that's dangerous. Instead, Pastor Mike challenges, what would it look like if we listened to Jesus, crossed the line, and imitated the love God shows? Help us meet our $130,000 Challenge Grant and make...

What is the first love in your life? In our busy world of work, school, kids, and relationships, what is your greatest passion? Your answer is so important when it comes to love. Because in order to love well, you need to have the right order of your loves—starting with the first love. Help us meet our $130,000 Challenge Grant and make your gift go twice as far! With your gift, you can also reques...

Issue after issue, regardless of which side you choose, everyone says Jesus is on their side. But two thousand years ago when Jesus walked the earth, what did he really say, and whose side would he take today? This message takes a close look at Jesus and his words and teaches us how we can learn from his perfect example of love. Help us meet our $130,000 Challenge Grant and make your gift go twice...

Love. Some define love as speaking the truth, no matter how hard it is to hear. Others define it as acceptance, approval, and applause. Love, according to the apostle Paul, is actually both tough and tender—but love is not equal parts of both. Pastor Mike walks us through Paul's words, revealing Paul's recipe for love and giving us three takeaways on how we can show love in the most meaningful way...

Listen to the entire devotional series from this week as Pastor Mike gives us five steps to help us overcome anxiety. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! For more resources that help you stay rooted in Jesus, check us out at timeofgrace.org where you can also subscribe to our daily email! Check out our newest video project, Bi...

When we’re stuck in our own heads with anxiety weighing down our hearts, here is one of the most powerful things we can do. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! For more resources that help you stay rooted in Jesus, check us out at timeofgrace.org where you can also subscribe to our daily email! Check out our newest video proje...

In our struggles against anxiety, remember that there is also a spiritual enemy against us. But Pastor Mike encourages us to fight back because we can take the enemy down with one word. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! For more resources that help you stay rooted in Jesus, check us out at timeofgrace.org where you can also...

How do you even tackle a subject as big as love, especially when considering that God is love? Pastor Mike and Amber give us a sneak peek at August's TV message series, "What Is Love?" Pastor Mike and Amber talk about whether love should be tough or tender—with Pastor Mike and Amber each revealing whether they are tough or tender. Spoiler for Amber: she has likely sent camp kids to therapy. The tw...

Jesus makes an incredible offering to help us battle anxiety. It starts with seeking these two things. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! For more resources that help you stay rooted in Jesus, check us out at timeofgrace.org where you can also subscribe to our daily email! Check out our newest video project, Bible Breath With...

When we’re anxious, it’s so easy to think of everything that’s wrong or could go wrong. So then we just flip that thinking. But how? Pastor Mike gives us the second practical step to battling anxiety. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! For more resources that help you stay rooted in Jesus, check us out at timeofgrace.org wher...

Is anxiety part of your story? Pastor Mike opens up the Bible and helps us deal with anxiety with this simple first step. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! For more resources that help you stay rooted in Jesus, check us out at timeofgrace.org where you can also subscribe to our daily email! Check out our newest video project...

Statistically, whether we know it or not, all of us know and love someone who has been abused. And all of us know and love someone who has been abusive. So how can we be a blessing to both? How can we comfort, confront, and bring healing to our circle of influence? If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please go to timeofgrace.org/abuse to find more resources and information for gett...

What does God say to those who have hurt others? Can we, like Jesus, be full of both grace and truth to the abusive? Pastor Mike talks about how abusers can move forward—beyond God's wrath—to a healing and hopeful relationship with God and the church. If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please go to timeofgrace.org/abuse to find more resources and information for getting help. With...

Despite the alarming statistics, the topic of abuse is rarely touched in the Christian community. What does God say about abuse? What does God think about abuse? What does God say to a church filled with unspoken trauma and deep wounds? If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please go to timeofgrace.org/abuse to find more resources and information for getting help. With your gift to T...

Abuse. Pastor Mike and Amber talk about this common but hush-hush topic, previewing Pastor Mike's next sermon series, "Abuse: What Does God Say?" This series first ran in 2021 but, as Pastor Mike says, we're rerunning the series because the topic is still relevant and affects a lot of people today. If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse, please go to timeofgrace.org/abuse to find more...

Let's be honest. It's too easy for us to forget God. When times are good, we're lost in the blur of blessings and forget about him. When times are bad, our hearts focus on the pain and we forget about him. So the big question is: how do we remember God? As Pastor Mike finishes teaching from the book of Esther, we discover—with great specificity and practicality—how we can always remember God and s...

Many of us claim to follow Jesus, but so often we fall short. We have the potential to love, to forgive, not to worry, to trust in God, not to fear cancer, to stand out in the crowd. But too often we fall short of that potential. So what can we do? Continuing through the book of Esther, Pastor Mike encourages us with these three things to remember as we live our lives for Jesus. With your gift to...

How much should we plan our lives when we know God's got plans for us? Should we be ruthless and driven about planning our schedules and our lives? Or should we be so trusting and so faithful that we just wait to see where God takes us? The answer, Pastor Mike says, comes from understanding that both approaches can be right—because truth is a tension. And, as we see from the book of Esther, we nee...

What we go through—the good, the bad, and everything in between—is not random. It's not a matter of luck. Because there is no such thing as coincidence, Pastor Mike says. Reading from the book of Esther, we see that God has reasons and purposes for all the things he does in our lives. Knowing this, how can we learn to trust in God's plans? With your gift to Time of Grace, you can request your copy...