There is nothing that followers of Jesus like to discuss less than persecution. For those of us in the West, that’s because we value comfort and security, and because we have never experienced governmental attacks and destruction like what we see in the Bible. But we are a minority. Across the globe, many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are experiencing brutal persecution, even as we read this. There is much that we can learn from our text this weekend as we see the church endure tremendous hardship and also miraculous deliverance.