Ronnie McBrayer

God: For Geeks and Seekers, Eggheads and Explorers

Could it be that scientists, philosophers, theologians, and spiritual seeker are chasing after the same "Wondrous More" that religion calls God? This is Ronnie's talk for "Trinity Sunday, 2022."

Crickets, Christ, and Canadians

Crickets...Christ...and Canadians? Listen in to this episode to see what these have in common. This is Ronnie's talk for Ascension Sunday, 2022.

A River Runs Through It

Ronnie is back after a vacation to Colorado! This talk is about embracing the unexpected and "going with the Spirit" and wildness of life instead of holding to preconceived expectations. Enjoy!

All My Tears

This talk was delivered just days after Ronnie's mother's death and before the mass shooting in Texas. May all who listen find some comfort from these words.

Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God, Part 10

In the conclusion of his series on the cross of Jesus, Ronnie speaks to the suffering of God and how that suffering is an act of solidarity with all who face injustice, pain, and inexplicable hurts. Ronnie says: "To speak of a God who cannot suffer is to speak of a God who cannot sympathize or understand. To believe in a God who is indifferent and unaffected, is to believe in a God who is deaf, blind, and calloused. But God, in suffering love, has in Christ come to join us in our own sufferings. Thus, when we suffer, it is not a sign of God’s disapproval or withdrawal - it’s actually God’s arrival. 'For here is a God who understands…Only the suffering God can help us now.'”

Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God, Part 9

"Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His transcendent love, became what we are, that we might become what he is." So said the Church Fathers, and so says Ronnie in this 9th installation of his series on the Cross of Jesus. The cross must mean something for today, Ronnie says, as we "don't have to die to get in on it." 

Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God, Part 8

In Episode 8 of Ronnie's series on the Cross of Jesus, Ronnie addresses "everything that is wrong with the world" (An overly ambitious statement, he admits). But he also address the solution, as the cross is a way of God saying: "I know you need to offload the burden of simply being a human, of being that unique species, the only one on the planet committed to revenge. I know you are capable of envy, hatred, violence - the very worst - so put it on me. I can take it. I’ll bear it.I’ll give it a resting place. Because if someone must take the blame for all your rivalry and its sinful results - if somebody has to die - in order for you to find peace, then let it be me." 

Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God, Part 7

"Everyone into the DeLorean!"
And with that, like Marty McFly going "Back to the Future," Ronnie takes listeners back in time to the ancient roots of our faith, exploring the sacrificial system of the Hebrew people. Why the strange rituals? What was all this blood about? What happened on the Day of Atonement? What is a scapegoat? These are questions that Ronnie answers and then applies to our understand of the cross in this seventh installment of his current series. 

Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God, Part 6

Ronnie takes on a view of the cross now known as "Penal Substitution." While honoring the image of Jesus as a substitute and sacrifice for sin (more about that will be forthcoming in this series), Ronnie outright rejects the idea of a furious, Puritan-like God whose murderous anger must be assuaged only by blood. Adapting a a line from Jonathan Edwards, Ronnie says, "Not for one more minute longer will I believe in a God who, 'not only hates us, but who holds us in the utmost contempt; who wants nothing more but to trample us down as the mire of the streets.' That God is inconsistent with Jesus of Nazareth."

Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God, Part 5

In episode five of "Crosswords: How the Cross of Jesus Reveals the Love of God," Ronnie talks about the importance and impact of an overlooked view of the cross called, "Moral Exemplar." Ronnie describes it like this: "The death of Jesus  was such an act of loving sacrifice, such a far-reaching, world-transforming, relationship-changing event - that if  understood even remotely - then Jesus’ example of all encompassing love would break our hearts open to love in return."