Ronnie McBrayer

This is Ronnie's fourth in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. "Love is the means. Love is the end. Love is the power. Love is the motivation. Love is the inspiration and the aspiration. Love is the ultimate goal and the eventual outcome. Any religion - any spiritual practice - any way of living that does not lead us to love, that does not make...

This is Ronnie's third in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. "Consider this: Any two human beings share 99.5 percent of the same DNA and genetic material. No one is all that different from his or her neighbor. What makes us unique are our experiences. Your life can never be duplicated, and what you have experienced, no power on earth can take...

This is Ronnie's second in a series of talks exploring the Book of Ecclesiastes alongside the work of Viktor Frankl. "Work - what you do - is essential to finding meaning in life. I did not say that work IS the meaning of life. No. But when our attitude is attuned, work can be a source of great satisfaction. As the proverb is told: 'Find something you love to do, and you will never work a day in y...

Viktor Frankl said: “If you have a WHY to live, you can endure almost any WHAT, that life gives you.” How does that statement stand up against inexplicable suffering; in an unjust world; in a society that seems to be growing more insane by the day? How does it compare with the words from the writer of Ecclesiastes? In this adventurous new sermon series Ronnie takes on the subject of "making meanin...

"Here is a hard and fast rule if you start a renovation project at your home: It will take you longer than you planned; it will cost you more money than you budgeted; it will lead to other renovations and necessary updates that you did not anticipate; and it will be more difficult than you first thought. Because once dive deep with the idea of seeing what is 'down there,' once you start pulling aw...

In a creative twist, Ronnie imagines the Magi searching for Jesus, not as "three kings from orient are," but as cowboys riding west into the unknown. Ronnie concludes this Epiphany talk: "Christ is  both the way and the destination, the road and the arrival. He is the voice that calls us - and the voice that answers. He is the thirst within - and the water that satisfies that thirst. He is the sou...

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance,” borrowing a line from the Apostle Paul: Whatever you think will happen in the future will likely NOT happen as you think it will. Or put another way: “If you want to hear God laugh, just tell him about your plans.” God doesn’t go about ruining the plans we have or raining on our hopes and dreams. I don’t think that at all. I think God a...

Charlie Brown cries out in desperation: “Everything I do turns into a disaster…Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” And then it happens, what Lee Mendelson called, "The most magical two minutes in all of TV animation." Linus answers his best friend. “Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about.” He takes center stage. “Lights, please,” he says. And with se...

"The Grinch franchise  (the 1966, 2000, and 2018 films) is the most popular, the most watched, and most lucrative holiday production in history. This 'heel…this vile one with termites in his smile…this seasick crocodile…A skunk with a heart full of unwashed socks…the king of sinful sots.' How can he be the most popular Christmas character since the nativity of Jesus and the coronation of Saint Nic...

"All these misfits - pushed away and ostracized - they aren’t bad. They aren’t wrong. They just are. And all they want is what we all want - a chance. A chance to be loved, a chance to belong; a chance to be themselves; a chance to thrive in spite of their misfitting and misgivings; a chance to be a part of the great reversal, where the down and out are no longer consigned to a far away, fog-encas...

"For me, there was a clear sign that Christmas was indeed near. If you were a child of the 1960s, 70s, or 80s - or a parent during those decades - you will share this memory with me. It was the return of the animated Christmas special!  I cannot tell you, a wide-eyed, bespectacled child of the 1970s, the undiluted and perfect satisfaction of sitting on the floor in front of a 19 inch black and whi...

As Advent draws near, Ronnie provides a history of the celebration, albeit by early and accidental means. Give this talk a listen to prepare for the season of light and love.

"What if Jesus came back today!?! Would you be ready?!?" Those are the typical revivalistic questions. In this talk Ronnie asks a different question: "What if Jesus DOESN't come back today...or tomorrow...or next year...or next decade...or next century?" This is a challenge for believers to accept and adapt to "the long haul," as the wait will be far longer than people of good intention could hav...

"I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial..." Words from the Prophet Isaiah (Chapter 38) to King Hezekiah inspire this talk from Ronnie as he connects it to "Daylight Savings Time" and the "extra time" we have all been given to live our lives.

"The search for happiness can lead people to do strange things...radical things...even criminal things. Blaise Pascal said, “The aim of every person is to be happy - even those persons who take their own lives.” It’s such a universal desire - to have a little joy; a little contentment; a light heart and mind. But it can be so universally elusive. This is because happiness is an inside job. There i...

Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself (I am large, I contain multitudes). - Walt Whitman Ronnie chose Whitman's line because it captures the fragmentation, history, complexity, and contradiction - not of humanity in general - but specifically as the best one line explanation for that tiny slice of land containing the state of Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. As Ronn...

In a deeply personal recapping of challenges experienced by individuals and families in his own congregation, Ronnie pivots to the theme of "Getting On With It" from Paul's words in Philippians 3. Ronnie says, "I tread lightly and carefully here, because the pain and loss for many of late is still so present and raw; not for a minute will I minimize any of that. Take your time. Heal as best as you...

Speaking from Philippians 2, the text where Paul write how Jesus "emptied himself," Ronnie uses this episode to talk about "having the attitude of Christ," with is the true essence of being a follower of Jesus. Ronnie says: "Was Jesus a culture warrior? No. Was he a violent revolutionary? No. Was he a retreatist? No. Was he motivated by fear? No. Was he greedy, driven by money? No. Was he obsessed...

In this re-telling of Jesus' Parable of the Vineyard (Matthew 20), Ronnie connects Woody Guthrie with C.S. Lewis, apple picking with communism, and gives a shout out to both Disney World and Ann Rand. He concludes: "The kingdom of God is not about fairness. It’s not about justice or earning what is rightfully yours. It’s not about what’s in it for you. The kingdom of God is only for the asking. It...

The great Bonnie Raitt sang, "I can't make you love me if you don't." Truer words have hardly ever been spoken. Likewise, it is impossible to love others by our own power. In the conclusion to his series "Inside Out," Ronnie talks about how only the spirit and love of Christ can transform and empower us to do what religion cannot: Love those we find unlovable.

With an introduction from children's writer Peter Reynolds (and his book, "Be You"), Ronnie continues his series entitled, "Inside Out." Focusing on Paul's great prayer at the end of Ephesians 3, Ronnie says, "Those who have a profound sense of being loved; who have this internal, soul-washed awareness that they are the recipients of the deepest compassion; those with a divine - and it is divine -...

Building on Psalm 138 and the work of Dr. James Hollis, Ronnie continues his conversation entitled, "Inside Out." In this talk he says, "To look inside ourselves and to interrogate our own lives might cause a storm. It might cause upheaval. It might turn over tables and hidden secrets and our never-before questioned assumptions and motivations. We might have to suffer; we might have to do business...

What does "ceremonial hand washing," a colonoscopy, and an interruption by Siri have in common? You'll have to listen to Ronnie's latest talk to find out! He invites listeners to exchange religious belief for radical inner transformation, saying, "If your religion makes you meaner, more judgmental, more afraid, more suspicious, more closed, or more angry - that religion has run ground. It should m...

Ronnie concludes this series from Matthew 13 saying, "I am finished and done with Christian profession that is all about how bad things are; that can only condemn; only threaten; that can only retreat in fear or lash out in anger. I have no use for any expression of religion - especially a religion invoking the name of Jesus - that has given up on people or the world or the generations to come...T...

Returning to Matthew 13, Ronnie picks up the parable of "The Wheat and the Weeds," in this second of a three-part series entitled, "A Profession of Hope." Speaking to how this parable is often missed and misapplied, Ronnie says, "This parable is a phenomenal revivalistic tool for some, giving full-throated endorsement to the 'accept-Jesus-to-escape-hell' gospel. In some circles, that’s all Jesus i...