Mike Novotny

Jun 1, 2023 • 55 min

Combine palace intrigue with wondering about purpose and seeing how God works in unexpected ways—that's the book of Esther. Pastor Mike's new sermon series is a six-part look at the book of Esther. He is joined by Amber Albee Swenson as they give us a preview of this new series, "What's the Point?" In addition to discussing how God shows up in this book even though his name is never mentioned, Pastor Mike and Amber also share valuable insights such as: why Amber protests using "The Bachelor" as an analogy for Esther; what is "The Curse of Knowledge" and "The Curse of Wisdom"; and what Pastor Mike's grand plan was before he became a pastor. "What's the Point?" kicks off this Sunday, June 4. Starting Sunday, June 4, you can also request a copy of this month's new book, "Real Women of the Bible," by Dr. Paul Kelm. It explores the character of some of the remarkable women in Scripture to reveal how each one of us today can carry on the same legacy of faith. Get this book at timeofgrace.store with your gift to the ministry.

Apr 27, 2023 • 59 min

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 new five-part series will look 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 and Amber get together, we learn more than we bargained for! We see how idealistic young Amber was ("I had huge dreams and didn't do any of them."), Pastor Mike's eyebrow test, how it's a compliment to call Amber a potato (seriously!), and how, according to Pastor Mike, comparison is essential. "Trends vs. Truth" kicks off this Sunday, April 30. Starting May 5, you can also request a copy of Amber's new book, "Soul Care: Nurturing Your Spiritual Wellness" with your gift to our $155,000 Challenge Grant! Make your gift go twice as far! Visit timeofgrace.org starting May 5 to give to the Challenge Grant! Pastor Mike and Amber also mention additional resources: - "Gifted for More" by Dr. Bruce Becker: https://bit.ly/41TaJQo - "Gay and God" by Pastor Mike. Get a free digital download: https://bit.ly/3ODCBBO

Mar 9, 2023 • 49 min

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 she brings to the interview to show Pastor Mike, and when we should look at "me first." They even find a way to bring mansplaining into the conversation. Don't Miss Moments kicks off this coming Sunday, March 12. Pastor Mike also mentions this month's resource, Jesus Knows: 90 Days Through the Gospels. This new book, written by Pastor Ben Sadler, guides us through reading the biblical accounts of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. See that our Savior knows what it’s like to be hungry, sick, forgotten, abused. Get this book at timeofgrace.store with your gift to the ministry. Do you want to know more about God? Or know someone who would like to know God? Get a free download of the book, "The Basics: God. You. Jesus. Faith." at https://timeofgrace.org/download-the-basics/ To stay rooted in Jesus, subscribe to our daily email! https://timeofgrace.org/subscribe-youtube/ We need your support! Your donation of any amount helps keep these videos coming. Please donate here: https://give.timeofgrace.org/timeofgrace/donation?SC=YTCHDB Click the Subscribe button to join our quickly growing community on YouTube!

Dec 29, 2022 • 47 min

How often do you feel the need to think about what you're thinking about? That's the premise of Pastor Mike's new upcoming sermon series, What Was I Thinking? Pastor Mike and Time of Grace writer and blogger Amber Albee Swenson dive into this four-part series that looks at whether what we're thinking matches with what God's thinking. In their always-interesting dialogue, we discover what are Pastor Mike's Monday blues and how he combats them, that Amber tells Satan to shut up all the time, one thought that's still hard for each of them to shake even though they know it's not true, why some of the lies we tell ourselves are so dangerous, and why Amber needs blunt friends. BONUS! Did you know that our "Behind the Series" feature was a podcast first? If you don't have time to watch Pastor Mike and Amber give a sneak peek into the next sermon series, you can also listen to them! Just search "Time of Grace With Pastor Mike Novotny" wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts and look for the "Behind the Series" episodes! Pastor Mike and Amber also talk about the special four-piece bundle we're offering in January. With your gift to Time of Grace in January, you'll get: • Pastor Mike’s book What’s Big Starts Small to help you overcome six detrimental threats to your thought life, based on Jesus’ parable of the sower. • The What Was I Thinking? DVD series to help you turn your attention to what’s biblical, beautiful, and good for your soul. • A 30-day workbook and journal from Dr. Bruce Becker called Bigger Faith to help you identify the lies of Satan, the world, and even the lies you tell yourself and point you to the truth of God’s Word instead. • And a Bigger Faith bookmark to remind you of God’s truth. Starting Sunday, January 1, you can get this four-piece bundle by visiting timeofgrace.org! Do you want to know more about God? Or know someone who would like to know God? Get a free download of the book, "The Basics: God. You. Jesus. Faith." at https://timeofgrace.org/download-the-basics/ To stay rooted in Jesus, subscribe to our daily email! https://timeofgrace.org/subscribe-youtube/ We need your support! Your donation of any amount helps keep these videos coming. Please donate here: https://give.timeofgrace.org/timeofgrace/donation?SC=YTCHDB

Aug 16, 2021 • 46 min

Watch the entire devotional series from this past week as Pastor Jeremy talks us through the complicated issue of rediscovering intimacy in marriage. To stay rooted in Jesus, subscribe to our daily email! https://timeofgrace.org/subscribe/ We need your support! Your donation of any amount helps keep these videos coming. Please donate here: https://raisedonors.com/timeofgrace/youtube Click the Subscribe button to join our quickly growing community on YouTube!

Jul 9, 2020 • 46 min

In our fourth and last (for now) conversation about race, we bring it back full circle to what we—each and every one of us—can do to improve our country's race relations. But we need to go beyond just "What can we do?" We need to do this AS CHRISTIANS. Pastor Mike, host Mike Westendorf, Pastor Aaron Robinson, and educator C.L. Whiteside share their thoughts. Thanks for sticking with us on this conversational journey as we dive deep into trying to unpack our country's complicated race issues. To watch our previous conversations about race: https://bit.ly/2zTiQoo

Jul 8, 2020 • 54 min

We continue our conversations about race. In Part 3, Pastor Mike sits down with Mile Markers host Mike Westendorf, Pastor Aaron Robinson, and educator C.L. Whiteside. Watch for Part 4 on Thursday. To watch our previous conversations about race: https://bit.ly/2zTiQoo

Jun 30, 2020 • 51 min

We continue our conversation about race. In Part 2 of the conversation, host Mike Westendorf and the group discuss more of the complex issues underlying the current racial unrest in our country. These initial conversations continue to help us listen to the honest perspectives of people who love Jesus but who have had different experiences and therefore perspectives that can challenge us as Christians. If you haven't already, we encourage you to watch Part 1 of this conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Mk6Wj7xDE

Jun 23, 2020 • 46 min

Christians need to talk about race. In light of the George Floyd tragedy and ensuing wave of protests that have swept our country, the hard questions need to be asked. God's mercy again affords Christians an opportunity to really listen to the perspectives of African Americans instead of continuing the indifference that the church has struggled with at times. Host Mike Westendorf sits down with a diverse group of voices, starting the conversation and learning to listen, all from a Christian perspective. Other videos on this important topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-THP-CeaAcM&list=PLA_56ra9pNtN2k9_M90h6gY2RihbRRPlQ&index=2