Ronnie McBrayer

How Great Thou Art

I have no way to prove this, but I suspect that more people know the song "How Great Thou Art" than know the Psalm upon which it is based - Psalm 8. I venture to guess that more people have heard this song in the last 75 years than have read the book of Psalms. And I think that’s just fine! Because, the song - “How Great Thou Art” -, remains faithful to the text.  
Times have changed. Understandings of the world have changed. Theological conclusions have changed. Modes and manners of worship have changed. Attitudes toward ecology and creation have changed. Science has changed. Technology has changed. Religion has changed. But still, there is this eternal hymn written to the glory of God, glory that is recognized in the world around us.
For the video referenced in the talk, go to: https://ronniemcbrayer.org/2026/06/04/how-great-thou-art/

Creation Song

Ronnie's continuing exploration of Psalms from the Revised Common Lectionary arrives at Psalm 104, with an ode to the Psalmists and contemporary artist, Fernando Ortega. Ronnie urges listeners to rediscover God's good creation by saying: "We are more fixated on looking through tiny digital windows on the world than living in and enjoying God’s actual, created world - a world that will remain more extraordinary than anything made by human hands or imagination."

Riders In The Sky

What do Stan Jones, King David, the Apache Tribe, the Canaanites, Baal, and Yahweh have in common? You'll have to listen to find out more. My latest talk from Psalm 68.

Fire and Rain

"God protects us from death and keeps us steady. Our God, you tested us, just as silver is tested. You trapped us in a net and gave us heavy burdens. You sent war chariots to crush our skulls. We traveled through fire and through floods but you brought us to a land of plenty” (Psalm 66 8-12). This is really a mixed bag here, isn't it? Praising God for God’s protection and care; and then acknowledging God’s hand in the Psalmist’s troubles. God appears to send the writer through fire and rain - and the case can be made that God is the fire and the rain. Is God the curse or the cure? Or both?

Like a Rock

When it comes to people who have truly suffered, who have endured so much trouble, they must have something extraordinary that sustains them. It must be something solid. Something stronger than anything else. Something that doesn’t move, that doesn’t wash away. Surely, their feet have found a rock upon which to stand, a fortress in which to retreat. Surely, there is a love that carries them, buoys them along. Surely, there is a power greater than themselves to which they have surrendered and entrusted their lives (Psalm 31)

A Rolling Stone

"Take in the scope of this ancient proverb: 'A rolling stone gathers no moss.' It emerged in  ancient Antioch, was rediscovered during the European Renaissance, beloved in the peat moss bogs of the Scot-Irish, and institutionalized by the royalty of blues, country, and rock and roll music. And sure as sunrise, there was no moss on the stone that covered the entrance to Jesus’ grave. It rolled away just about as quickly as it had been put into place."  Listen for more pf Ronnie's Easter 2026 talk.

"Your God Is Too Small," Part 2 of 2

"Seventy percent of your body is water. Seventy percent of all you ingest is water. Seventy percent of this planet is water. Water is everywhere and in everything. Water is what each of us are made of, and water sustains us. Water sustains everything in our world. That's not hard too understand - because it is our reality. Is it then so hard to understand that Christ is in all and hold all things together?" This is part 2 of "Your God Is Too Small."

"Your God Is Too Small," Part 1 of 2

JB Phillips coined the phrase, "God-In-A-Box." What did he mean? We have tamed God. We think we own or control God. Just look how God works through the religious machinery we have built, after all. God is reduced to a wafer in the hands of a priest; a doctrinal statement; the rules and expectations of a particular denomination or church. But God is wilder and larger than any restriction humans might place on God.

What Really Matters

Francis de Sales said, "I would rather answer to God for being too lenient than for being too severe. Is not God all love? Is not God the Father the Father of all mercy? Isn’t God the Son as a gentle Lamb? Is not God the Holy Spirit like a Dove? Can we act any different than God? It is a terrible thought, but one that is true: We love God as much as the person we love the least."

Believe in the One, Part 7 (8 of 8)

"I am the true vine," Jesus said. "Abide with me." My friends in recovery really get this concept of abiding - finding home on the way. It’s captured in Step 11 : “Seek - through prayer and meditation - to improve your conscious contact with God as you understand God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will and the power to carry it out.”
Staying connected is how you stay on the wagon. Constant, conscious, mindful contact: If you don’t stay with it, you won’t stay with it. Be daily aware - be hour-by-hour aware - sometime minute by minute aware - that the source of your wellbeing, the source of your life is God, supplying what you need.