From the July 3 sermon, "Jesus Is Lord, King, and Savior," preached by Pastor Mark out of Luke 19:28–44: Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a colt, just as Zechariah prophesied, as a humble prince to take his bride, the church. But as he surveys the city, he weeps for it. This should be our heart, as well, as the Holy Spirit breaks our heart for the cities in which we live. But, before the wedding, there needed to be a funeral: Jesus would die in our place for our sins to conquer Satan, sin, death, and hell, so our sins could be forgiven and we can wear white, be cleaned, and made pure in Jesus.

We want to be generous so that we can help exalt Jesus. And he climbs upon that colt and he begins his ride into Jerusalem. And it's amazing because a few who began with generosity are then joined by others. And friends, this is how it works: Everybody isn't going to be generous, so somebody needs to be generous, and eventually everybody joins in. Everybody isn't going to worship Jesus, but if somebody worships Jesus, eventually everybody joins in. And so the disciples go first, "We're gonna exalt Jesus, we're gonna be generous to Jesus, we're gonna serve Jesus." And then Jesus begins his ride into town and lots of other people join in and they take their cloaks and they lay them on the ground before Jesus. What do you prize? What do you treasure? Which possession is most important to you? Would you throw it on the ground? No. What if it was for Jesus? Would you give it away? The answer should always be yes. And they throw their cloaks on the ground. That's saying, "Jesus, you're worth anything and everything."

If you are a child of God, hear me in this: God is not angry with you; he loves you. God is not sick of you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. God will not abandon you; he has adopted you. Yes, God might be disappointed in some of the things you were doing, but he's disappointed in you because you were his child and he loves you and he has much more intended for you. There is peace between you and God. He is not against you, he is for you. And friends, even when you suffer—hear me in this—God is not punishing you. He's already punished Jesus in your place, and it would be unjust to punish both Jesus and you. There is peace between you and God. Sometimes our suffering is the consequence of our sin, we reap what we sow. Sometimes God does allow us to go through a hard season, just like a parent who loves a child will give them a bit of correction to instruct and mature them. But there is peace between you and God, if you belong to Jesus Christ.

Think of a woman who God has told her, "You're going to be married. Just wait for your husband." Days, weeks, months, years. She wonders, "Is he ever coming?" But God had revealed to her some specific details. "He'll come like this. You'll know this is he." And then one day—she wasn't expecting it, she'd sort of lost hope—and there he is. And he starts approaching her. And in that moment she realizes, "This is the day where the promise of God comes true."