“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” Sound familiar? Most know this phrase from Ecclesiastes, but few explore its deeper message. In this episode of Fastened Like Nails, Dr. Mark Hamby uncovers the true heart of Ecclesiastes—not vanity, but words. Through its poetic structure and purposeful repetition, Ecclesiastes reveals that fulfillment is found by following the Word. When life feels empty, the path to joy begins at the cross—where bitterness turns to hope, and questions find their answers. Discover what it means to be made clean through the Word. Tune in and see Ecclesiastes with fresh eyes.

Do you have saber-tooth tigers in your church?

If you answered no, think again! On today’s episode of Fastened Like Nails, Dr. Mark Hamby draws a powerful parallel between these great cats and the congregations in some of our very own churches. The saber-tooth tiger is believed to have wiped out its own species due to incessant infighting. Sadly, the fate of the sabertooths is often mirrored in churches today. Conflict and strife are infesting more and more congregations every day.

How can we learn to avoid these deadly conflicts and help our churches thrive? Tune in to the newest episode of Fastened Like Nails to find out!

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His hand at work.” Join Mark as he presents God’s animal kingdom through the lens of well – known scriptures and wonderfully unique – and amusing – shepherding experiences. Discover how God’s creatures become the teachers! Be inspired, refreshed, and encouraged to glorify God by enjoying Him!

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His hand at work.” Join Dr. Hamby as he presents God’s animal kingdom through the lens of well–known scriptures and wonderfully unique (and amusing) shepherding experiences. Discover how God’s creatures become the teachers!

May you be inspired, refreshed, and encouraged to glorify God by enjoying Him!

No one likes to be sick. Even a minor cold can derail your weekly plans. But what if you had a chronic illness, a disease that would not release its grip on you. Today on Fastened Like Nails, Dr. Mark Hamby brings to our attention the struggles and dangers of chronic illness, or any trial that strives to consume us. These ‘Territorial Tyrants’ can dominate our lives, ruin our plans, and ultimately, tear away our joy. Where is God when we’re suffering? Why doesn’t He simply set us free from these tyrants so we can do His work? Perhaps it is because life’s most painful moments are what bring us to our knees before Him. Tune in today and learn how God can use even these territorial tyrants to bring Him the ultimate glory.

With all the unrest in our world, happiness is hard to come by. But God has something far better for his children! God calls us to be holy, but He also calls us to be happy. It just may not look how we think it should.

On today’s episode of Fastened Like Nails, Dr. Mark Hamby delves into the Psalms to show us the key to true happiness. The secret? Strong, straight rope! While baffling at first glance, the idea of something being straight (or righteous) is integral to living in the happiness God desires for us. Tune in and find out how you can weave the strands of happiness into your own life.

Life has its fair share of surprises. Sometimes they’re filled with joy, but sometimes they can be deeply painful. These events can take our lives by storm, diverting our attention from what God may be calling us to do. In this episode of Fastened Like Nails, Dr. Mark Hamby spurs us to “walk while there is light” and follow the Lord’s leading. Unpacking John 11:9, we are shown Jesus' amazing intention behind this verse. Let’s not get distracted. Walk while there is light and see what Jesus can do in your life!

Timing is everything. From everyday tasks to life altering moments, time permeates our lives. And the Bible has much to say on the topic, but nowhere quite like Ecclesiastes 3.

In this episode of Fastened Like Nails, Dr. Mark Hamby guides us through the iconic “A Time for Everything” passage. Like a gallery of exquisite paintings, this passage depicts many of the desirable or undesirable experiences in our world. And hidden in it all, there is beautiful symmetry…or is there?

Things are not always as they seem—especially when God has His say in the matter. Tune in and find how even when our lives fall apart, God can make everything beautiful in His time.

In this episode, Dr. Mark Hamby invites us on a journey into Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler of Matthew 18. As we move through this passage, we are shown how Jesus uses the Ten Commandments to unearth the real issue in the young man’s heart: covetousness. But due to his suffocating grip on his wealth, the young man finds himself unable to surrender.

Dr. Hamby appeals to us to examine the deepest parts of ourselves: are we willing to release our grip and follow Christ?

On today’s episode of Fastened Like Nails, we dig into a rich and practical topic: how Christians should approach agriculture. Summer Guild teacher Noah Sanders joins us to explore what it means to let God speak into farming—and how we can look to Him as the Master Farmer.

Through powerful parallels between the garden and the Christian life, Noah shares how God's way of farming promotes life, in contrast to the death-driven methods often found in modern commercial agriculture. What does it mean to farm like Christ—and live like Him too?