The Ryley Heppner Podcast

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...

Faith isn’t passive—it’s active, alive, and always moving. When Paul met Christ, his entire life changed direction. He went from persecuting Christians to proclaiming Christ with boldness and purpose. Abraham’s faith was the same—he believed God, and he went. True Christian faith doesn’t stop at belief; it transforms how we live, where we go, and what we do. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Persona...

In this episode, Todd Korpi joins me to discuss his new book, "AI Goes to Church: Pastoral Wisdom for Artificial Intelligence." In our chat we explore the potential for both the use and abuse of AI within the Church, asking how pastors, leaders, and congregations can engage this powerful technology with wisdom, discernment, and theological depth. Todd Korpi (DMiss, Fuller Theological Sem...

What did Jesus actually say about himself? Was he simply a wise teacher—or did he claim something far more profound? In this episode, I talk with Mikel Del Rosario — “The Apologetics Guy” — about his new book, "Did Jesus Really Say He Was God?: We explore the biblical and historical evidence for Jesus’ divine identity, as well as some common objections, key passages, and how the earliest Chri...

In this episode, I sit down with John McCabe to discuss his new book "Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Last Eight Days." We talk about the myths that have grown around Bonhoeffer’s death, the unreliable testimonies that shaped past biographies, and the fresh sources that reveal a truer picture of his courage, faith, and humanity in the final days of the Third Reich. John McCabe is Research Associate at th...

In this episode I have the chance to sit down with Dr. Eric Mason to talk about his new book, "Rebranding the Church." We dig into what “rebranding” really means (and doesn’t mean), how the church’s witness has been distorted, and what it will take to restore credibility and trust to the church. Eric Mason is the founder and senior pastor of Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia. With over thirty ye...

From 120 believers in Acts to billions today, God’s Kingdom has faced epidemics, persecution, political hostility, and cultural opposition—yet it has never stopped growing. The lesson? No matter what threats arise in our own day, the Church will endure because God’s purposes cannot be stopped. ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Personal Website/Writing⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Apologetics Canada Request⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Outreach Speakers Request

What does James really mean when he says, “faith without works is dead” ? In this episode, I talk with New Testament scholar Joel B. Green about his latest commentary on one of the most misunderstood books in the Bible. We explore how James connects faith and works, why he’s often (wrongly) set against Paul, and what it looks like to live out a faith that actually transforms lives. Joel B. Green i...

What does exercise have to do with following Jesus? In this conversation, I talk with David Mathis from Desiring God, about his new book "A Little Theology of Exercise: Enjoying Christ in Body and Soul." We explore how movement, discipline, and embodied habits can actually deepen our joy in Christ, shape our discipleship, and help us serve others better. David Mathis is executive editor...

What happens when hip hop, art, and apologetics collide? In this conversation, I sit down with Troy Lydiate—better known as Scribe Music—to talk about how art shapes culture, how the church has often struggled to engage with it, and why beauty and creativity matter for apologetics. We explore the tension between the sacred and the secular, the prophetic voice of hip hop in society, and how the chu...