Time of Grace With Pastor Mike Novotny

How do we know if God is speaking to us or if it's just us feeling and thinking what our own hearts want to hear under the guise of "God told me"? Throughout the Bible, God spoke in different ways to different people, using a burning bush, a whisper, visions, even a talking donkey. How does God speak to us today? Pastor Mike teaches how God promised to speak personally to each of us. If you enjoy...

Repetition has a way of making things sound true, but what's trending isn't always entirely true. That's what Pastor Mike and Amber Albee Swenson dive into as they give us a sneak peek of the new sermon series, Trends vs. Truth . This five-part series looks at these popular sayings: "God Told Me," "Be You," "Love Is Love," "Who Am I to Judge?" and "Self-Care." As is often the case when Pastor Mike...

If we're honest, we admit that we sin because sin feels good. In our struggle with sin, we panic and wonder if we're going to lose our faith. That's why Jesus' half brother Jude, in just one sentence, gives us an incredible promise at the end of his book—it's so incredible that Pastor Mike spends an entire sermon on this single sentence. If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part of your...

Because of today's culture, we need to do more than just share the good news of God's love—we also need to follow the example of Jesus' half brother Jude and be on alert for the dangers that have slipped in among Christians. Pastor Mike teaches of the two dangers Jude warns us about while also giving us some hard truths about what it means to live for God. If you enjoy this podcast and make it a r...

There are two key teachings in the Bible, and the temptation for Christians is to pick one teaching at the expense of the other. Learning how to fully embrace both teachings is the message of Pastor Mike's new sermon series, Hard Words, Loving Truths. Pastor Mike and Amber Albee Swenson give us a preview of this two-part series, and in the process we learn some of the lies Christians still fall in...

Easter is a massively important deal in Christianity. So then how is it possible that many of us can easily miss it or reach this day without being emotionally and spiritually prepared? Pastor Mike shares how the Bible refuses to let us miss Easter, reminding us of the life we find from an empty grave. If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part of your week, would you consider helping us...

What happens if God doesn't give us the immediate yes we're praying for? Will we still love and praise him? Pastor Mike challenges us and asks: Do we know the difference between what we want from God and what we actually need from God? In this Palm Sunday message, Pastor Mike recounts when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to be exactly the kind of King and God we truly need. If you enjoy this podcast and...

When we're on the mountaintop of God's blessings, it's easy to praise him. The big question, Pastor Mike says, is what will happen when we fall down into a valley? How will our faith survive life's challenges and prove that we're not just using God for the mountaintop moments but will still worship him when we're feeling low and in the valley? To do that, we look at when Jesus was on the mountaint...

God is like a treasure at the end of a tightrope. We have to walk a perfect path to get to the treasure, because if we slip just once, we're done. Unfortunately, we slip often. But that's what makes Jesus so amazing—he gives us a ride across the tightrope, taking each step perfectly to reunite us with God. Yet he was tempted to slip. What would have happened to us if he would have taken the devil'...

This week, Pastor Mike answers tough questions from viewers like you. 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 Pastor Jeremy Mattek! https://ti...

If anxiety is a sin, what happens to someone who succumbs to it and dies by suicide? This week, Pastor Mike answers tough questions from viewers like you. 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! C...

How does asexuality fit into the Bible? This week, Pastor Mike answers tough questions from viewers like you. 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 Brea...

Why pray if God already knows what you're going to say? This week, Pastor Mike answers tough questions from viewers like you. This week's devotional series by Pastor Mike is also featured on our Grace Talks Daily Devotionals podcast! If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part of your day, would you consider helping us with your regular support? We can't do any of this without you! Consid...

If we won't be married in heaven, what's the point of marriage on earth? This week, Pastor Mike answers tough questions from viewers like you. 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...

Should a woman be able to wear leggings? Or is that a sin? This week, Pastor Mike answers tough questions from viewers like you. 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...

We know our birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestone dates. But how many of us know the date we were baptized? And why does that even matter? Because, Pastor Mike says, Baptism is a very big deal. God attached his own promises to Baptism—the love and power of God go through Baptism to us. If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part of your week, would you consider helping us with you...

Don't miss what moments? Don't miss the big moments of Jesus' life and what he was all about—and what it means for us. That's the premise of Pastor Mike's new sermon series, Don't Miss Moments. Pastor Mike and Amber Albee Swenson dive into the ideas behind this new series (it started with someone unhappy with Pastor Mike), how the first message resulted in Amber digging up two personal relics that...

Churches today face the temptation of believing they are faithful while subtly compromising their values, especially when it comes to biblical sexual morality. It's an uncomfortable topic that needs to be addressed, Pastor Mike says, in order to enjoy God's gift of sex, to understand the consequences of falling to sexual temptations, and to see how God helps us through it all. If you enjoy this po...

What if you feel too broken with too much baggage? Can you still be saved? Pastor Mike walks us through the account of one of Jesus' closest female friends and shows us that no matter our stories, our struggles, or our secrets, it doesn’t matter how broken we might be—because the broken belong with Jesus. If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part of your week, would you consider helping...

How do you view money? Pastor Mike isn't afraid to tackle this personal and uncomfortable topic—because our relationship with money matters in our relationship with God. Through the story of one of Jesus' money-loving disciples, Pastor Mike helps us see how Jesus came to heal the sickness of greed and has already given us the riches of heaven. If you enjoy this podcast and make it a regular part o...

Anger can do real damage to our relationships and our lives. So, Pastor Mike says, we need to ask ourselves: how are we going to deal with our anger? Or more important, what is God going to do with us before we blow up his blessings with our anger issues? Pastor Mike looks at the story of two brothers and how Jesus dealt with their anger—and how he can help us with ours too. If you enjoy this podc...

We all know a highly organized person who loves checking boxes, planning everything, and getting things done, and we are blessed to have them in our lives. Maybe we ARE that person. But what happens when these strengths of organization and productivity are turned up too high? Diving into the account of two sisters in the Bible, Pastor Mike gives us three takeaways to help stressed overachievers le...

We often have to be among the best to be chosen. But what if we're not the best? Or even close to it? Good thing for us that Jesus isn't like that. He didn't choose the best and the brightest. Instead, he picked people just like us: sinful, complicated people who sometimes aren't even considered good. Or, in the case of the apostle Peter, Jesus picked proud people who talked too much. WHY would Je...

It's hard for us to believe, but it's true—Jesus can and does use flawed people like us. That's the message of Pastor Mike's new sermon series, ME on Team Jesus? Pastor Mike and Amber Albee Swenson give a sneak peek as they talk about how Jesus used those who were prideful, stressed, angry, greedy, and broken, and how he continues to use them (us!) today. In the course of their conversation, Pasto...

There’s no question about it: following Jesus comes at a cost. Sometimes we may even be tempted to rethink following Jesus when the cost feels too great. But Pastor Mike gives us one big idea for those moments when we feel the weight so we don’t make Jesus a part of our past but part of our present and eternal future. Check out our newest video project, Bible Breath With Pastor Jeremy Mattek! http...