The Marben Bland Podcast
The Marben Bland Podcast is where faith meets real life. Hosted by Pastor Marben Bland, this show features powerful sermons, uplifting devotionals, and engaging interviews with leaders, thinkers, and changemakers. Each episode offers spiritual insight and practical wisdom to help you grow in faith, lead with purpose, and live with impact. Whether you're on your morning walk or your evening drive, tune in for thoughtful content that feeds the soul and inspires action.
Episodes
579 episodes
Sermon - A Godly View Of Retirement
Retirement may mark the end of a career, but it is never the end of God's calling. In this encouraging message, Rev. Marben Bland reminds us that God never retires His people. Through the lives of Moses, Caleb, and Anna, we discover that our gr...
A Godly View of Retirement
An estimated four million Americans will celebrate their 65th birthday this year, and more people than ever are entering retirement. Thanks to advances in healthcare, retirement is no longer just a few short years. The Social Securit...
God's Gift, Our Mission
God has always given His people what they need to fulfill His purpose. Ephesians 4 reminds us that Christ gave leaders to equip believers for ministry and build His Church. One expression of that gift is the African Methodist Episcopal Church, ...
Sermon:Love: God's Greatest Revolution
What kind of revolution can truly change the world? Not one fought with bullets or ballots, but one transformed by the love of Jesus Christ. Join Rev. Marben Bland, Pastor of Greater Bethel AME Church, as he explores Jesus' revolutionary...
Love God's Greatest Revolution
As our nation marks the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, remember that the greatest revolution began long before America, in the words of Jesus. In Matthew 5:44, Christ commands, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute ...
Called To Lead: Rev. Dr. Greta Fowler, Candidate For AME Bishop 2028
Host: Marben Bland Guest: Reverend Dr. Greta Fowler, Candidate for Bishop (2028)What happens when God calls you to something you never planned to pursue? In this inspiring conversation, Reverend Dr. Greta Fowler shares ...
Women Belong
Recently, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to move closer to a permanent ban on women serving in pastoral leadership roles. While I respect each denomination's right to interpret Scripture as it understands it, I reach a different conclusi...
Every Vote Counts: Building Power Through Civic Engagement
Does your vote really matter? According to former Georgia State Representative Karen Bennett, the answer is a resounding yes.In this insightful episode, host Marben Bland sits down with Bennett to discuss the power of voting, the challen...
Is Anything Too Wonderful for the Lord?
When Sarah heard God's promise that she would have a son in her old age, she laughed. The promise seemed impossible. After all, Abraham is ninety-nine years old, and Sarah is nearly ninety.Yet God responded with a question that still cha...
Sermon: Follow Me - The Secret of Great Leadership
What if the greatest leaders are not those who lead first, but those who learn to follow? In this powerful message from Matthew 9:9, Pastor Marben Bland explores Jesus’ call to Matthew the tax collector and reveals a timeless truth: leadership ...
Called To Follow
In Matthew 9:9–13, Jesus does something remarkable—He calls Matthew, a tax collector, to follow Him. Matthew was not considered righteous or respectable by society. Yet Jesus saw beyond his past and into his potential. With two simple words, “F...
Your Best Days Are Still Ahead
These are the five signs that you're aging with power, purpose, and promise. So if you can stillpray like Simon, you're aging with power. If you can still climb mountains like Jacob, you're agingwith purpose.If you can stil...
The Five Signs That You Are Aging With Power, Purpose, and Promise
Are your best days behind you—or could God still have greater things ahead? In this inspiring 28-minute sermon, Pastor Marben Bland explores five biblical signs that reveal whether we are aging with God's power, purpose, and promise....
Devotional: Aging with Power, Purpose, and Promise
Growing older is not about what we lose but about how God continues to shape and use us for His glory. Through the Holy Spirit, we can still pray faithfully, move with purpose, grow in God’s Word, and remain mentally sharp. The Holy...
Receiving and Walking in Power
Jesus commanded His disciples: "Do not leave Jerusalem until you receive power." God never intended His people to live powerless lives. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in you, providing power for identity, discernment, i...
Walking in Spiritual Discernment
At Pentecost, the Spirit granted supernatural understanding—people heard God's message in their own language. Today, believers urgently need Pentecostal discernment. We live in an age of sophisticated deception, wh...
Discovering Your God-Given Identity
Before God can use you publicly, He must settle you privately. The Holy Spirit's first work is establishing your identity—not in your accomplishments, failures, or others' opinions, but in God's sovereign choice. You are chosen, royal, holy, an...
Healthy Souls, Healthy Bodies: God’s Plan for Total Wellness
Physical and spiritual health are both gifts from God that require intentional care and daily stewardship. The Apostle Paul reminds us in First Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Just as prayer, worship, and Script...
Powered by the Holy Spirit : 4 Ways God Empowers You
Everybody wants power. Politicians spend millions chasing it. Corporations fight for it. But Pastor Marben Bland reminds us this Pentecost Sunday that there is a power money cannot buy—the power of the Holy Spirit! In this dynamic 27-minute ser...
Maddox Center Radio Announcement
Grace and peace to the Athens community. I am Pastor Marben Bland of Greater Bethel AME Church. After prayer, careful study, and a unanimous church vote, Greater Bethel has decided to demolish the Maddox Center building within the next 60 days....
Rooted by a Mother’s Faith
This Mother’s Day, we celebrate the power of a mother who plants her children in the right place. In 1 Samuel 2:11 (NRSV), the Bible says, “The boy was ministering to the Lord.” That didn’t happen by accident—Hannah placed Samuel in an e...
Sermon: From The Pit to Purpose
From the pit to the palace—Joseph's story reminds us that what others mean for evil, God can turn for good! Genesis 50:20 declares that even in betrayal, abandonment, and injustice, God is working out His purpose in our lives.You may be ...
From the Pit to Purpose: Staying Rooted When Life Breaks You
“From the Pit to Purpose: Staying Rooted When Life Breaks You”I am Marben Bland, Pastor of the Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia, with a Living The Word Moment The recent tragedies involving...
Don't Waist The Loss
What can losing teach us about discipleship? More than we often realize. Loss has a way of revealing what success hides. It humbles us, stretches us, and pushes us closer to God. Scripture reminds us in Romans 5:3–4 that suffering produces endu...
Sermon - The Four Hallmarks Of Disciple
The question isn't whether you know Jesus—it's whether you're living like His disciple! In his sermon, " The Four Hallmarks of Discipleship”, Pastor Marben Bland unpacked the foundation of discipleship from Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus didn't just g...
