The Ryley Heppner Podcast

This is what it means for Jesus to be the bread from life: Jesus is God, He died to impart to us the Life of God, eternal life is knowing God, and all we must do is believe in God. Or to say it another way, "For God so loved the world,that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The greatest news and the greatest offer in the world for sinfu...

They miss the meaning of the bread, and they miss the identity of the one who gave them the bread. And the result of this inadequate understanding of Jesus is a desire to make him their earthly king, who among other things can finally conquer their conquerors – as if Jesus came to simply reign over a physical kingdom. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Per...

Jesus healing the lame man appears random, like Jesus just happens to be passing by him that day and happens to notice him. But there is nothing random about it. Jesus heals the man on a religious day, during a religious feast, outside a religious building, in front of a bunch of religious people, because this healing is just as much a statement to the Jewish onlookers as it is to the man who is h...

In this episode, I sit down with Matt Smethurst to discuss his book "Tim Keller on the Christian Life." Matt talks about what made Tim Keller such a unique and influential voice, his gospel-centered vision of the Christian life, his ability to reach skeptics and secular culture, and why Keller’s work still resonates with so many Christians today. Matt Smethurst serves as lead pastor of R...

In this episode, I sit down with Old Testament scholar Paul R. House to explore his book "The Minor Prophets: Seek the Lord and Live" and the message of the Twelve Prophets. Paul does a great job through the book and through this interview in helping Christians see the power, relevance, and urgency of minor prophets and be drawn back into them with fresh understanding and conviction. Paul R. House...

In this episode, I sit down with Professor Jan N. Bremmer to talk about his book "Jews, Pagans and Christians in the Roman Empire." Jan explains why Jews were understood (even if distinct), why Christians were often seen as a problem, and what was actually at stake when they refused to participate in practices like sacrifice and statue worship. Jan Nicolaas Bremmer is a Dutch classicist and histor...

No shortcuts. No backdoors. You must be born again. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal Website/Writing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apologetics Canada Request⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Outreach Speakers Request⁠

The book of Revelation is, first and foremost, a revelation of Jesus Christ. It is a pulling back of the curtain so that we can see Jesus even more clearly. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal Website/Writing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apologetics Canada Request⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Outreach Speakers Request⁠

In this episode, I sit down with Daniel Zacharias and Chris Hoklotubbe, coauthors of "Reading the Bible on Turtle Island." We discuss what it means to read Scripture through Indigenous perspectives, the meaning of “Turtle Island,” the historical relationship between Christianity and Indigenous communities, and how Indigenous scholars and Christians are engaging Scripture today. Christoph...

In this episode, I chat with Jason Ballard of The Way Church and The Pastorate about church planting in the secular landscape of Vancouver. Our conversation digs into the lessons Jason learned through his work with Alpha Youth, the tension between cultural contextualization and the gospel and what it looks like to plant healthy churches. Jason Ballard is Lead Pastor of The Way Church Vancouver, a...

What does Paul mean when he says in Ephesians 2 that Christians are “seated with Christ in the heavenly places"? ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal Website/Writing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apologetics Canada Request⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Outreach Speakers Request⁠

In this episode, I sit down once again with Clifton Black, this time to talk about his latest book, "Biblical Theology: Essays Exegetical, Cultural, and Homiletical," and to discuss what a lifetime of studying, praying, teaching, and training pastors does to the way you read Scripture. Dr. C. Clifton Black, Princeton Theological Seminary’s Otto A. Piper Professor of Biblical Theology, earned his M...

Mark 7:24–30 and the Syrophoenician woman is an amazing picture of Jesus' words from a few verses earlier, "There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him.” Jesus crosses several religious and cultural boundaries by engaging with a Syrophoenician woman, and instead of being made unclean by her, his presence brings purifying power to her. The implications of this encounter...

I was privileged to sit down with author and professor, Joel Looper, to talk about his book Another Gospel: Christian Nationalism and the Crisis of Evangelical Identity. In our hour-long conversation, Joel clarifies what “Christian nationalism” actually is and what it is not, and explores why this movement reveals a deeper crisis of identity within contemporary evangelicalism. On top of that, we d...

What does it take to truly break free from the grip of porn and sexual sin? Today I sit down with Brad Hambrick (pastor and biblical counselor) to talk about his new book False Love: 9 Steps Toward Sexual Integrity. In our conversation, Brad shares why lasting change requires more than behavior management, and talks about the role of honesty, the grip of self-deception, and how sin distorts our vi...

In this episode, I have the privilege of chatting with Barnabas Piper about growing up with John Piper as a father and about walking through divorce and remarriage. Barnabas reflects on how all of these experiences have shaped and reshaped his understanding of God, the church, and pastoral ministry. Barnabas Piper serves as one of the pastors at Immanuel Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He is the a...

Today I had the great privilege of sitting down with biblical counselor and author Ed Welch to dig into his new book, "Fear Is Not a Sin: It Is a Call to Action." In our chat, Ed unpacks what Scripture really says about fear and shows us how to see it as a biblical opportunity to draw near to God rather than a failure of faith. Ed Welch is a faculty member and counselor at the Christian...

In today's conversation, Geoffrey Chang joins me to talk about the ways Charles Spurgeon faced suffering personally and how that suffering informed his preaching. Our conversation draws from Chang's new book which is a curated collection of some of Spurgeon's sermons on suffering, entitled, "Your Only Comfort: Devotions for Hope in Suffering." Geoffrey Chang serves as Associa...

In this episode, I’m joined by New Testament scholar, Donnie Berry, to talk about the scope of God’s plan for the world. Drawing from his latest book "The Earth Will Be Filled: A Biblical Theology of the Glory of God," Donnie unpacks how the glory of God and the mission to the nations are not late developments in Scripture, but part of God’s purpose from the very beginning. From creation...

In this episode, I have the absolute privilege of chatting with Andy Bannister, the Director of Solas Centre for Public Christianity. In our conversation, Andy unpacks why spiritual hunger seems to be returning, why apathy—not atheism—is now the real challenge, and what faithful, thoughtful evangelism now looks like. Andy is the Director of Solas and is an evangelist, speaker, writer, and broadcas...

I recently had the privilege of chatting with Michael Kibbe about his new book, "Life in a Lifeless World: Encountering Jesus in the Book of Hebrews." In our conversation, Kibbes unpacks the unique way that the Book of Hebrews shapes Christian endurance, and explains why Hebrews speaks so powerfully to a culture of fatigue, distraction, and spiritual drift. Michael Kibbe is associate professor of...

In this episode I talk with theologian Philip Ziegler about something Christians seem to rarely stop to think about: the devil. His new book makes a serious case for why the doctrine of the devil still matters for understanding evil, the gospel, and Christian hope. Philip G. Ziegler is Professor of Christian Dogmatics at the University of Aberdeen. After holding a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship...

A demon named “Legion.” A man restored. And a powerful message to Christians living under Rome’s shadow. Mark 5 hits harder than we often realize! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Personal Website/Writing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Apologetics Canada Request⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Outreach Speakers Request

In this conversation, I chat with Revelation scholar, Greg Carey about his new book, "Rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance." In the book and in our chat, Greg unpacks the book of Revelation not as a fear-driven prediction manual, but as a pastoral and prophetic call to faithful witness in a world shaped by power, empire, and competing loyalties. Greg Carey is professor of New Tes...

What does it mean to truly become the man God designed you to be? In this episode, I sit down with John Simons, author of "The Man You’re Meant to Be," to talk about biblical manhood, identity, and purpose in a world that seems to have lost its bearings. John Simons (PhD candidate in Ethics & Public Theology at Southern Seminary) is the Men's Pastor of Rolling Hills Community Chu...