

The Ryley Heppner Podcast
Ryley Heppner
Helping the Church think deeply, read faithfully, and live biblically.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Feb 2, 2026 • 54min
Lust, Lies, and Freedom | Brad Hambrick
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 view of God and ourselves. Brad serves as the Pastor of Counseling at The Summit Church in Durham, NC. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a council member of the Biblical Counseling Coalition, has authored several books including God’s Attributes: Rest for Life’s Struggles, and served as general editor for the Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused (churchcares.com) project.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Jan 30, 2026 • 51min
Divorce, Remarriage and Growing up a Piper | Barnabas Piper
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 author of several books including, The Pastor’s Kid: What it’s Like and How to Help and Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another. He is married to Lauren and has three children.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Jan 15, 2026 • 39min
Is Fear a Sin or a Call to Action? | Ed Welch
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 Counseling & Education Foundation (CCEF). He has counseled for over forty years and has written extensively on the topics of depression, fear, and addictions.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Jan 13, 2026 • 38min
How Charles Spurgeon Faced and Preached on Suffering | Geoffrey Chang
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 Associate Professor of Church History and Historical Theology and the Curator of the Spurgeon Library. He is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin (B.B.A.), The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Ph.D.), where he wrote his dissertation on Charles H. Spurgeon’s ecclesiology. He also serves the Book Review Editor for History & Historical Theology at Themelios, the academic journal for The Gospel Coalition. He is the volume editor of The Lost Sermons of C.H. Spurgeon Volumes 5, 6, and 7 (B&H Academic) and the author of Spurgeon the Pastor: Recovering a Biblical and Theological Vision for Ministry (B&H Publishing).InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Dec 20, 2025 • 51min
The Glory of God and His Plan for the Nations | Donnie Berry
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 to Israel to the church, Donnie shows how the biblical story moves toward a world filled with God’s glory, and what that means for how we read the Bible and understand the mission of God today.Donnie Berry (PhD, Amridge University) is an instructor of New Testament and biblical theology with Training Leaders International, helping to train and equip pastors and Christian leaders around the world. He is the author of Glory in Romans and the Unified Purpose of God in Redemptive History.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Dec 5, 2025 • 51min
The Return of Spiritual Hunger | Andy Bannister
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 broadcaster. From universities to churches, cafes to pubs, schools to workplaces, Andy regularly addresses audiences of both Christians and those of all faiths and none on issues relating to faith, culture, politics and society. He was co-editor and a contributing writer for Have You Ever Wondered? and authored How To Talk About Jesus Without Looking Like An Idiot, Do Muslims and Christians Worship the Same God? and The Atheist Who Didn’t Exist. He also co-hosts two podcasts, PEP Talk and Pod of the Gaps and presents the Short Answers video series for Solas.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Nov 29, 2025 • 51min
Hebrews, Perseverance, and a Lifeless World | Miachel Kibbe
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 Bible and academic dean at Great Northern University in Spokane, WA. He received his PhD in New Testament from Wheaton College, and taught previously at Wheaton College and Moody Bible Institute. His other books include From Topic to Thesis, From Research to Teaching, and Godly Fear or Ungodly Failure: Hebrews 12 and the Sinai Theophanies. He and his wife, Annie, live in Spokane with their three children.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Nov 28, 2025 • 48min
Why the Doctrine of the Devil Still Matter | Philip Ziegler
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 at Princeton University's Center for the Study of Religion, Philip taught for several years at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Canada as Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology, and joined the faculty of the University of Aberdeen as Lecturer in Systematic Theology in January 2006. He is the author of Doing Theology When God is Forgotten: The Theological Achievement of Wolf Krötke (2007) and Militant Grace: The Apocalyptic Turn and the Future of Christian Theology (2018) and most recently, God's Adversary and Ours: A Brief Theology of the Devil (2025).InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Nov 15, 2025 • 4min
Is Mark 5 MORE than another EXORCISM?
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!InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request

Nov 14, 2025 • 49min
Rereading and Rethinking Revelation | Greg Carey
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 Testament at Moravian University School of Theology. He currently serves as the school’s chief academic officer and as associate dean of the Lancaster campus. His research interests include the book of Revelation and ancient apocalyptic literature, the Gospel of Luke, and public biblical interpretation. He is the author of numerous books, including Using Our Outside Voice: Public Biblical Interpretation, Stories Jesus Told: How to Read a Parable, Death, the End of History, and Beyond: Eschatology in the Bible, and Rereading Revelation: Theology, Ethics, and Resistance.InstagramPersonal Website/WritingApologetics Canada RequestOutreach Speakers Request


