The Marben Bland Podcast

Send us Fan Mail By now I am certain you have seen it, the brawl in Montgomery.   You know the virial video showing a group of white boaters attacking a black co-captain. It sparked a massive fight resulting is assault changes with the city’s mayor calling for justice to be served to the boaters “for attacking a man who was simply doing his job.”   It was a heartbreaking example of brothers and si...

Send us Fan Mail How good and pleasant it is when people dwell in unity! Is the message of Psalm 133.   However, in a world of division, disagreements and disadvantage how can we have unity and peace with all this tension?   In 1965 at the height of Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King said, "True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice." Often, we are mistak...

Send us Fan Mail In the second of six sermons answering the fundamental questions about our faith Marben Bland, gives God’s answer to the question: “What Does It Mean To Live A Meaningful Life?”  Teaching from the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) Pastor Marben makes these key points:  1. Living a meaningful life must be done with intention. Living a meaningful life requires work.  Jam...

Send us Fan Mail With an estimated 9.9 billion in revenue the Self-help business is thriving.  Self-help books abound with experts providing advice on everything under the sun.  All with the goal of helping people to live a more meaningful life.    Jesus, is the ultimate self-help expert in response to the self-help question: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”  His answer in Luke 14:27 was...

Send us Fan Mail In the first of six part sermon series addressing the critical questions of our faith Pastor Marben Bland, provides answers to the question, “Who Is God?” For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail If there was a big game in the NBA, Mark Jackson, the ESPN analyst who was let go this week in a cost cutting move was at the mic.  For the past 15 years he has called the NBA finals, sharing insights gained as a standout point guard at Saint John’s University and 17 years in the league finishing his career ranked in the top ten all time in assists.    “Mama There Goes That Man!”...

Send us Fan Mail El Shaddai, YHWH, The Great I am.  These are three of the many names we have called God.  While we have many names for God, the questions for many is who is God?    From its very beginning in Genesis 1:1, the Bible never attempts to prove the existence of God; rather, it assumes His existence.   However, what the Bible does reveal is the nature, character, and work of God. Scriptu...

Send us Fan Mail For over three decades Phyllis Hatcher and her ministries have served the people of God.  Today Phyllis Hatcher joins The Podcast to discuss her life, her business career, her runs for public office and her ministry.   For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail Thanksgiving 1945, World War II had ended only months before.  The American Army who had secured the freedom of the entire world from Hitler were occupying a defeated Germany.   A Corporal from New York ran into an old high school friend who was also serving in the Army.  The Corporal invited his friend to join him to share the Thanksgiving meal in the mess all along with other Am...

Send us Fan Mail The novella which is the story of Joseph detailed in Genesis 37-52 is a demonstration of God’s preservation of the Jewish people.   In a teaching from Genesis 37-52, Pastor Marben Bland tells the story of Joseph as we consider six fundamental questions about our faith.    For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail  A novella , is a short well-structured narrative, designed to bring home a point without the length of a full-fledged novel.  The novella which is the Biblical story of Joseph detailed in Genesis 37-52 brings home the point of God’s preservation of Israel.    The novella details how Israel and its people survive despite their own foolishness and wickedness, indeed, ironically, in...

Send us Fan Mail 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we should study and show God that we the understand truth. This verse refers to knowing God's word and being able to point out false teachings and philosophies, but it applies to secular education as well.  From book banning, to curriculum challenges, to the death of Affirmative Action, education in America is under attack.   The souring cost of s...

Send us Fan Mail She taught from classroom number one at the old Jones County High School.  From that perch, Mrs. Geraldine Black Morgan Thomas introduced her students to classic authors, William Shakespeare, Geoffrey Chaucer, James Baldwin, and yes even Andy Griffith.     However, the greatest author Mrs. Thomas introduced us to was herself.   Born into one of the leading families in our communit...

Send us Fan Mail A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place.  It is where a person goes in search of a new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good through the experience.   In a message from Isaiah 56:7-8, Pastor Marben Bland, talks about his pilgrimage to the Israel in a teaching entailed A Holy Land Reflection – It Is More Complicated Than We...

Send us Fan Mail My second trip to the Holy Land has confirmed that Israel is much more than antiquities.  Today the Jewish State is a powerhouse with agriculture, industrial, technological, and military might.   Gleaming office buildings, new apartments, bussing stores, fertile farmland, and booming tourism are the underpinnings of an impressive economy.   God has blessed Israel but like any nati...

Send us Fan Mail The 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States.  It is a day of fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics , concerts baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies.   With all its fan fair the day, is about government commemorating the ratification of the Declaration of Independence and the overthrow of British rule.   Last I checked the...

Send us Fan Mail The modern State of Israel was founded in 1948, with a population of over 9 million Israel is a vibrant country boasting the world’s 29th largest economy.   Israel is the political and religious homeland for Jews, a place where they can practice the customs and traditions of their faith undisturbed by antisemitism.    In Judaism, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day of...

Send us Fan Mail The Supreme Court in a 6-3 ruling has ended Affirmative Action, a nearly fifty-year practice of using race as a factor in college admission, hiring and other decisions.  Affirmative Action’s aim was to the “level the playing field” giving previously discriminated minorities an opportunity at acceptance at elite universities, employment, and other endeavors.    For many including t...

Send us Fan Mail Less than ten miles south of Jerusalem is Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus.  Located inside Palestine, Bethlehem a major pilgrimage destination for three faiths.  Manger square features the Catholic Church of the Church of St. Catherine, the Muslim Mosque of Omar and the Christian Church of the Nativity containing the birthplace of Jesus.    Adherence to the physical ru...

Send us Fan Mail Holy Land Reflections A pilgrimage has been described as a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place.  It is where a person goes in search of a new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good through the experience.  Sometimes a pilgrimage can led to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life.   Changed not neces...

Send us Fan Mail Afflictions, suffering, misery, and persecution are common in the human condition.  Ailments, calamities, distastes of every proportion will visit us either in person or to someone that we know love or care about.    This week a young father who by his own hand ended his life was laid to rest.  Leaving behind a wife and a third grader to a lifetime of wondering why.    Psalm 116 i...

Send us Fan Mail 9,086 that is the number of Wheel of Fortune episodes hosted by Pat Sajak who announced this week that he would be stepping down 41 seasons.  For all his abilities as a host perhaps Pat’s best ability is his availability.   Being there for all those years coming into our homes spinning the wheel as he watched Vana turned the letters.    Availability is also the greatest ability fo...

Send us Fan Mail On Sunday J. Harrison Ghee and Alex Newell became the first out nonbinary performers to win a Tony, the awards given for excellence on Broadway.    The wins come at a time when gender identity has become a central element of America’s culture wars.  As reported by the New York Times conservatives in multiple states have press for legislation on a variety of L.G.B.T.Q.-related issu...

Send us Fan Mail John the Baptist had been murdered, executed by King Herod to satisfy a grudge of his sister-in-law.   When told the news Jesus withdrew to a deserted place to grieve the loss of his cousin.    However, when his location was discovered, large crowds showed up.  Instead of being upset that his solitude was broken, Jesus showed compassion healing the sick.    In this story from Matt...

Send us Fan Mail In response to the murder of George Floyd, Congress passed a bill to examine systemic racism in the actions of government.  The law authorized the creation of a commission to rename U.S. Army bases that were named for Confederate leaders.   Many of the Army’s most iconic posts will gain new names as the raciest past of their previous names have been uncovered.   Fort Bragg the Nor...