The Marben Bland Podcast

Send us Fan Mail If you ended up having dementia, how would you like to be treated?” Is the question posed by John Swinton, the Scottish theologian and author of the book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God.    Swinton answers saying he hoped to be loved and cared for just for who I am, even if who I am is difficult for me and for others to recognize.   In the book Swinton says the question of...

Send us Fan Mail All That She Carried , written by Dr. Tiya Miles and published in June 2021, is a National Book Award winner and a New York Times bestseller and was named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post , Time Magazine, NPR, and Publisher’s Weekly .   Join us for a lively book club discussion.   For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail On Wednesday President Biden announced a plan to wipe out significant amounts of student loan debt, saying he would cancel $10,000 in debt for those earning less than $125,000 per year and $20,000 for Pell grants recipients.   Many hailed the plan the fulfillment of a Biden campaign promise as a lifeline given by a grateful nation to help those in need.  But critics — including so...

Send us Fan Mail In December 1967 the film “Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner?” was released.  Starring academy award winners Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, and Sidney Poitier the movie  tackled the subject of interactional marriage which was recently made legal by the Supreme Court in the Loving v. Virginia decision.  The movie centers around a dinner where the young interactional couple played by...

Send us Fan Mail Dr. King said, True Peace Is Not Merely the Absence of Tension. It Is the Presence of Justice. While we may not like it Jesus is telling us that the conflict, the tension the difficulty must happen.   Click on this link to listen to Pastor Marben sermon from Luke 12:49 entailed “The Myth Of The Peace Of Jesus  For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail You know a myth is a a widely held but false belief or idea.  Myths abound in our lives; however, the question is do we believe them?  There is a myth about the Peace of Jesus.  It’s easy to believe that Jesus is all about people coming together with no drama, no conflict, and no division, and that is the myth.      Jesus says in Luke 12:49 that  I’ve come to set the earth on fire...

Send us Fan Mail I have a question for you this morning.  How many of you believe that the church and for that matter the world should be a place of peace?  And that unity should abound not only in church but in our families.   After all, don’t we worship and follow Jesus.  Think of all the peaceful titles we give him the lamb of God, the Lilly of the valley, the prince of peace.   When we think o...

Send us Fan Mail On the day of Pentecost, as promised by Jesus the Holy Spirit the power, comfort and enabler of God came to the disciples.  It transformed the disciples from twelve uncertain and scared men locked in a room into a powerhouse for the Lord.  The Holy Spirit gave Peter not only the ability but the authority to preach the Gospel to the multitudes and on the day of Pentecost 3,000 peop...

Send us Fan Mail It had been a long day for Jesus and his disciples they left Galilee and went to Judea on the other side of the Jordan.  Large crowds followed them as Jesus healed the sick, avoided the tricks of the Pharisees, and taught the gospel to his disciples.   During this time people of all stripes came to see Jesus including some little children who were brought to him so that he might l...

Send us Fan Mail Luke 12: 32-34 Jesus tells us two ways in which we can receive the kingdom that God so delights in giving us.   For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail In many communities in the south where I teach the gospel, pastor, live and play public school is starting.  Among those starting is my youngest granddaughter Noa whose very first day of school is this week.   Imagine how different your life would be if you had never learned to read, understand numbers, or been exposed to the wonders of science. Education provides our children wit...

Send us Fan Mail If you ended up having dementia, how would you like to be treated?” Is the question posed by John Swinton, the Scottish theologian and author of the book Dementia: Living in the Memories of God.   Swinton answers saying he hoped to be loved and cared for just for who I am, even if who I am is difficult for me and for others to recognize.   In the book Swinton says the question of...

Send us Fan Mail The risen Jesus in Matthew 28:16-20. Gathers the disciples at the Mount of Olives.  Just before ascending to Heaven, he tells the disciples to do one simple thing: “Share the Gospel.” As disciples of Jesus, we are also to do that one simple thing which is to “Share the Gospel.”    Often as Christians we do not share the Gospel for reasons that have more to do with us than the pers...

Send us Fan Mail Marketing is a set of activities used to communicate the value of a product, service, concept, or idea.   Logos on our clothing, commercials on TV ads on social media, we are exposed to marketing 24/7. If Jesus Christ, the most influential person  in history taught a class on marketing what might He say? The risen Jesus delivers the answer in Matthew 28:16-20. The disciples gather...

Send us Fan Mail Jesus speaking in Luke 12:34 reminds us that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be too.”   According to Cox Automotive a leading information source in the car business the average price paid for a new non-luxury vehicle last month was $43,338.  So, for most Americans the automobile is the place where many of us display our treasure.  Regardless of the features or how f...

Send us Fan Mail The banking app on my phone allows me to track my spending.  It’s amazing seeing what I spend my money on.   Jesus does not want us to examine our spending instead he wants us to realize that God delights in giving us his kingdom.    In Luke 12: 32-34 Jesus tells us two ways in which we can receive the kingdom that God so delights in giving us.   First, Jesus tells us that we shou...

Send us Fan Mail Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. It is the command of Jesus’s and the main point of the parable of the Rich Fool from Luke 12:13-21. In a 24-minute sermon Pastor Marben, tells how Jesus wants us to avoid foolish behavior and greed that will separate us from the kingdom of God.    For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail Watch out! Guard yourself against all kinds of greed. It is the command of Jesus’s and the main point of the parable of the Rich Fool from Luke 12:13-21. Despite this command many people believe that Greed is Good.   In the words Gordon Gekko a character in the 1987 movie Wall Street Many people believe that greed is good.   Many people believe that greed is right, many people bel...

Send us Fan Mail A fool is defined as person who acts unwisely or imprudently.  Fools come in many sizes, shapes and bank accounts.   Elon Musk, the South African born billionaire who owns Tesla the electric car company and SpaceX the private rocket company is now being called a rich fool because of something he does not own Twitter.  In a crazy entanglement of ego, power and money. Musk announced...

Send us Fan Mail In an ambitious 33-minute sermon from Luke 11:1-4 Pastor Marben talk about prayer by broaching three subjects first revealing what is God telling us about prayer, worship and service as we study the Lord’s prayer.  Second an exploration of the state of prayer in the 21st Century.  And finally, how to pray like Jesus incorporating 5 types of prayer that Jesus used.  Recorded: July...

Send us Fan Mail You have herd all the clichés about prayer “take it to the Lord in prayer”, “pray without ceasing”, “our thoughts and prayers are with you” “prayer changes things,”.  These are the clichés however to truly understand what prayer is we need to look to Jesus.   The disciples and Jesus have been traveling along the way Jesus prayed.  Jesus prayed alone and he prayed in the mists of t...

Send us Fan Mail July 4th, 2022, a celebration of American liberty.  After 2 years of COVID constraints, the celebration of American liberty was on full display.  Families gathering for cookouts, baseball being played in packed stadiums, fireworks, and parades.    It was at a parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Ill that a gunman shooting from a rooftop killed six people and wounded doze...

Send us Fan Mail In a teaching from Luke 10:38-42 Pastor Marben tells the story of how Jesus recognized that Mary had found the one thing worth being concerned about. For More Great Content Go To  Marben Bland.com 

Send us Fan Mail From pool parties to cookouts, to family reunions hospitality abounds on this 4th of July weekend.  Christian hospitality is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the church today. Christian hospitality is not entertainment simply put Christian hospitality is meeting a stranger and embracing them as a neighbor.    As Jesus and the disciples were traveling to Jerusalem, they ca...

Send us Fan Mail Galatians 6:9 tells us not to get tired of doing what is good.  For many the hard work of doing good was rewarded with the Supreme Court overturning of Roe vs. Wade.   Now states are free to restrict a woman’s right to choose.   Justice Clearance Thomas argued in a concurring opinion that the Supreme Court should reconsider its past rulings, codifying rights to contraception acces...