The Grace Hill Podcast

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Pastor Tyler Allred | Grace Hill Presbyterian Church

Jesus says, “I am the gate,” and “I am the good shepherd.”

What do these two images tell us about who Jesus is—and what it means to follow him?

In John 10:1–18, Jesus describes himself as the only way into the life God offers and as the Shepherd who knows his sheep by name, protects them, searches for them, and lays down his life for them.

Pastor Tyler Allred explores the ancient imagery of shepherds and sheepfolds, the Old Testament promises of Ezekiel 34, and the remarkable way Jesus fulfills God's promise to shepherd his people.

We also examine the Barmen Declaration of 1934, when Christians in Germany reaffirmed the lordship of Jesus in the face of growing Nazi influence over the church. Their example raises an enduring question: Who deserves our ultimate allegiance?

Finally, we consider what it means to recognize the voice of our Shepherd today through Scripture, prayer, and Christian community.

With so many competing voices demanding our attention, Jesus continues to call his sheep by name.

Scripture: John 10:1–18
Series: Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life

Watch our sermons on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

Learn more about Grace Hill:
https://mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Pastor Tyler Allred | Grace Hill Presbyterian Church

After Jesus heals a man born blind, the religious leaders demand an explanation. They question the man, interrogate his parents, and challenge his understanding of Jesus.

But the more they question him, the clearer his faith becomes.

At first, Jesus is simply a man who healed him. Then a prophet. Then someone worth following. And finally, the man encounters Jesus face to face and worships him.

The religious leaders, meanwhile, become increasingly blind to the truth standing before them.

At the heart of this story is a simple testimony:

“I was blind, and now I see.”

In this sermon from John 9:13–41, we explore the power of our personal stories, the danger of spiritual self-sufficiency, and why following Jesus means continually acknowledging our need for his grace.

You don't need to have every answer before you can share what Jesus has done in your life.

And you never reach a point where you no longer need him to open your eyes.

Scripture: John 9:13–41
Series: Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life

Watch sermons on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

Learn more about Grace Hill:
https://mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Grace Hill Presbyterian Church | Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred

When Jesus encounters a man born blind, his disciples ask a familiar question: “Who sinned?”

We often assume that suffering must be someone's fault. But Jesus challenges that assumption and turns their attention away from blame and toward what God is about to do.

Then Jesus does something strange. He makes mud, places it on the man's eyes, and tells him to wash in the Pool of Siloam.

The man hasn't seen Jesus. He doesn't know exactly what will happen. But he takes one simple step of faith—and receives his sight.

In this sermon from John 9:1–12, we explore suffering and the story of Job, Jesus as the Light of the World, the symbolism of new creation, and the relationship between trust, obedience, and spiritual sight.

Sometimes following Jesus doesn't begin with understanding the whole journey.

It begins with listening to his word and taking the next step.

Scripture: John 9:1–12
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermons:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

More sermons and Bible resources:
https://mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Grace Hill Presbyterian Church | Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred

“Are you greater than our father Abraham?”

Jesus' answer goes far beyond saying yes:

“Before Abraham was, I AM.”

Abraham was one of the most consequential people in human history. But Jesus doesn't place himself above Abraham on a list of history's great figures. He places himself in an entirely different category.

In this sermon from John 8:48–59, we trace how Abraham's story points toward Christ—from God's covenant in Genesis 15 to the provision of a substitute on Mount Moriah—and explore Jesus' astonishing use of the divine name, “I AM.”

Then the question becomes personal.

In Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, the Grand Inquisitor is perfectly comfortable operating in Jesus' name—until Jesus himself shows up. Could we do the same?

Christian faith is rooted in something God did in history, but it isn't meant to remain past tense.

We don't proclaim merely that Christ was risen.

He is risen.

What changes when we begin living every ordinary moment as though the living Christ really is present with us?

Scripture: John 8:48–59
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://youtu.be/IJxrnf61fxc

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Grace Hill Presbyterian Church | Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred

John 8 contains some of Jesus' most difficult words.

Jesus is speaking to religious insiders—people who know Scripture, claim Abraham as their father, claim God as their Father, and in some cases have even begun to believe in Jesus. Yet Jesus challenges them with a deeply uncomfortable question:

Does your life bear a family resemblance to the Father you claim?

This passage has also been tragically misused throughout Christian history to malign Jewish people. Read in context, however, Jesus' warning isn't ammunition for Christians to aim at someone else. It is first a warning for people who believe we belong to God's household.

Jesus' severe words are ultimately an urgent invitation of grace. Sin enslaves us, but:

“If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

What would it look like to make our home in Jesus' word—and increasingly live like children who resemble our Father?

Scripture: John 8:21–47
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Grace Hill Presbyterian Church | Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred

Jesus doesn't merely claim to point toward the light.

He says, “I am the light of the world.”

In John 8:12–21, the religious leaders put Jesus’ testimony on trial. Who does he think he is? Why should anyone believe what he says about himself?

But gradually the courtroom turns around. The people questioning Jesus discover that their own response to the Light reveals something about them.

This sermon explores Jesus’ remarkable connection to Psalm 36 and Isaiah 9, the imagery of light during the Feast of Tabernacles, the exclusivity of Jesus’ claim, and his stark warning that the Light isn't simply something that makes life a little better. Jesus says that without him, we remain in darkness.

Psalm 36 says:

“Within you is the spring of life; in your light we see light.”

John's Gospel makes an astonishing claim: the bread, water, life, and light Israel had always sought in God have come to us in Jesus.

Scripture: John 8:12–21
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Grace Hill Presbyterian Church | Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred

A woman is caught in adultery, dragged into public, and placed before Jesus. Her accusers want condemnation. Jesus gives them an answer no one expects:

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

One by one, they leave.

Eventually only two remain—the woman and Jesus. As Augustine famously described the scene, there remained “the pitiable woman and Pity.”

And Jesus, the one person qualified to condemn her, says:

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

This sermon explores the unusual manuscript history of John 7:53–8:11, the reliability and transmission of Scripture, the hypocrisy of the woman's accusers, Jesus writing in the dust, and the remarkable order of the gospel:

Grace first. Transformation follows.

Scripture: John 7:53–8:11
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus: The Gospel of John for Real Life
Grace Hill Presbyterian Church | Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred

John 7 unfolds during Sukkot—the Feast of Tabernacles, one of Israel's greatest annual celebrations. The people have gathered to remember how God provided food, shelter, light, and water for their ancestors in the wilderness.

But while everyone celebrates God's past provision, the God they're looking for is standing among them.

Throughout the chapter, people debate Jesus' following, credentials, background, and endorsements. Then Jesus cuts through all the noise with a simple invitation:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.”

What are you thirsty for—relationally, emotionally, spiritually? Where are you searching for significance, fulfillment, or life?

Jesus' invitation is not simply to learn more information about him, but to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

Scripture: John 7
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://www.youtube.com/@MHgracehill

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus
Grace Hill Church, Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred | mhgracehill.church

What happens when the Jesus we're actually following turns out to be more demanding than the Jesus we expected?

At the end of John 6, many of Jesus' disciples decide they've had enough. His teaching is too difficult, his claims are too great, and they walk away.

Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks, “Do you want to go away as well?”

Peter's answer captures something essential about Christian faith: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Peter doesn't know everything he's signed up for. But he knows who he's said yes to.

Along the way, this sermon explores the scandal of the cross, God's sovereignty and human freedom, fearless evangelism, Judas' warning about proximity without relationship, and what it means to make Jesus—not merely his gifts—the foundation of our lives.

Scripture: John 6:60–71
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://youtu.be/L-F5b6w4WIY

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church

Follow Jesus
Grace Hill Church, Morgan Hill, CA
Pastor Tyler Allred | mhgracehill.church

“This is a hard teaching. Who can listen to it?”

In John 6:41–60, those words don't come from Jesus' enemies. They come from his disciples.

As Jesus calls himself the Bread of Life, his followers become increasingly uncomfortable with his claims. Jesus is too familiar, too exclusive, and finally too demanding. Then he uses startlingly physical language: unless we eat his flesh and drink his blood, we have no life in us.

What does Jesus mean—and why does he choose language this provocative?

In this sermon, we explore the sacramental and deeply embodied nature of Christian faith, and what it might mean to wake up every morning hungry for the presence of Christ.

Scripture: John 6:41–60
Series: Follow Jesus

Watch the video sermon:
https://youtu.be/etHVzqqYRIM

More sermons, articles, and Bible resources:
mhgracehill.church