The Ryley Heppner Podcast

The scandal of the Gospel. That a perfect God would substitute himself in the place of the guilty. More than that, in the place of enemies. As Charles Wesley so wonderfully wrote, "How can it be That Thou, my God, should die for me?"

How do you live as a faithful Christian in such politically polarized times? How do you follow Jesus and participate in politics? How do you be salt and light in the world and love your neighbour well and contribute politically to our society? There are so many pressing questions like these when it comes to the relationship with between faith and politics. Thankfully there are people like Miranda...

In today's episode I chat with Tod Bolsinger about his new four book series, Practicing Change. In our conversation Tod briefly unpacks each book in the series, walking me through what it looks like to lead a church through positive change and transformation in the midst of crisis and resistance, while building trust and staying on mission. If you are a Christian leader of any sort, Tod's new seri...

Today I had the chance to chat with Kevin Gushiken about his new book out of Kregel Press, “A Theology of Play: Learning to Enjoy Life as God intended.” It is such a unique topic of study and one that hasn’t received that much focus. To think that God created play, gives us the freedom and permission to play, and that he actually delights in his people playing. How incredible! In our conversation,...

I had the wonderful privilege today of getting to speak with, author and biblical scholar Christopher Ash. Ash has most recently released through Crossway a four volume commentary called The Psalms: A Christ Centred Commentary, which was the topic of our conversation today. We talked about how to find Christ in the Psalms, how to read the Psalms of vengeance, how important the Psalms are to the ch...

Just ten simple things that have helped me be more disciplined in and get more out of my time in God's Word. Maybe they'll be helpful to you too! 1. Read it daily. 2. Read it in strange places. 3. Read it while you’re waiting. 4. Read it with multiple bookmarks. 5. Read it with a plan. 6. Read the Psalms once a month. 7. Buy new Bibles because you wear them out. 8. Read it with a commentary 9.  Re...

I had the awesome privileged today of getting to talk to pastor and author, Mark Vroegop about his latest book, “Waiting isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life." Our conversation covered, among other things, the motivation for the book, why waiting is both normal and difficult, how it is an opportunity for Christ to shine in and through us, and how waiti...

There is an old adage that goes something like this, "What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” Now let me reword it for you and ask it again, “What you would attempt for Christ, if you knew His love for you could not fail?”

Today's conversation is with Professor of History and Christian thought, Dr. Timothy Larsen. Dr. Larsen's latest project is the reissue of a powerful devotional from the 19th century Scottish author and minister, George MacDonald, Diary of an Old Soul, in which Dr. Larsen provides an introduction and explanatory notes throughout the book. We talked lots about George Donald, about his Christian fai...

Today I was joined by New Testament Professor and Bible Translator Dr. Mark Strauss, to talk about his new book, 40 Questions About Bible Translation. Our conversation ranged from gender neutral decisions in the NIV, to the difficulties, challenges and ongoing debates in Bible Translation, to the differences between a translation and paraphrase. Hope you enjoy and that you are left both challenged...

Rejection always hurts, no matter what I am being rejected from. It always makes me squirm; makes me want to disappear. And yet, I have come to realize through the years and over the course of many rejections that God can and does use rejection in my life to do a myriad of beautiful things. These days, even though rejection is still uncomfortable, I find myself almost eagerly anticipating it becau...

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In today's conversation I chat with New Testament Scholar, Dr. James McGrath, about his most recent books, The A to Z of the New Testament: Things Experts Know That Everyone Else Should Too , as well as Christmaker: A Life of John the Baptist . Dr. McGrath discusses, among other things, whether the eye of the needle really was a gate in the city wall, if there is a book in the Bible called Revelat...

In today's episode I have the privilege of talking to Jeff Medders and Doug Logan Jr. about their new book "The Soul Winning Church: Six Keys to Fostering a Genuine Evangelistic Culture." In our conversation Jeff and Doug share about the their individual experiences in the church that led to this book being written; why they think we struggle so hard as churches to focus on soul-winning; and how w...

Are there any biblical reasons for Christians to at least get in control of their smart phone use? I think there are lots of reasons but I will just give you 10!

Who are the poor in spirit and how on earth does the Kingdom of God belong to them?

In part three of our ongoing series, "A Conversation About Church," Ben and I discuss where the local church should fit in our lives in terms of priorities. What should be our commitment level to the church? How involved should we be? Is the church important? Essential? Optional? What if we've been hurt by/in the church?

Today I was privileged to be joined by Biblical Scholar, Dr. Peter Bolt. In my conversation with Dr. Bolt we discussed, among other things, the Gospel of Mark, some of his work in the area of demonology, and a few of his favourite writings from Karl Barth. Dr. Bolt is the Director of Academic Strategy at Sydney College of Divinity, the founding Director of the Centre for Gospels and Acts Research,...

To be entered into a monthly theological book raffle just SUBSCRIBE and then send an email to ryleypod@gmail.com with the word SUBSCRIBE.

Today I was joined by pastor, professor and biblical counselor, Dr. Ernie Baker. Our conversation focused primarily on the topics in Dr. Baker's latest book and contribution to the biblical counseling world, Biblical Counseling and the Psychologies.  Dr. Baker (D.Min., Westminster Theological Seminary) serves First Baptist Church as the Interim Senior Adult Pastor. He is also a professor at The Ma...

In Luke 10 Jesus encounters Mary and her sister Martha and it is a powerful picture of the distracting dangers of serving Him rather than sitting with Him.

I am joined by author and theologian, Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, to talk about her new book "When God Became White: Dismantling Whiteness For a More Just Christianity." In our conversation Dr. Kim describes the origins of her new book, briefly unpacks the roots of and the damage done by painting God as a white, and speaks to how the Church can begin to correct the narrative of Whiteness. Grace Ji-Sun K...

When I was four my parents took me into my first skateboard shop and bought me my first skateboard. I tell you all that not for no reason, but because that has a lot to do with how and why I started really following Jesus and then how and why I became obsessed with His Word.

The church that does not know the purpose for which it exists will inevitably misplace its focus, misuse its resources, and miss out on so much of God intended for it. The church has got to know its primary purpose. Thankfully its in Ephesians 3, and it is truly a glorious purpose with mind blowing proportions.

What is God like toward His children? What is the extent of His goodness? How does He give us rest? Psalm 23 has something to say on it!