Dearly beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, this passage is one of my favorite ones in the book of Acts, because it specifically relates Psalm 2 to God's plan for history as that plan was worked out in the life and death of Jesus Christ. But I want to look at this passage today through the lens of persecution and how to endure it. This could be what we might call mid-level persecution, like the night in jail that Peter and John experienced. It could be low-level persecution, like losing a friendship or being denied a job because of your Christian convictions and your willingness to share them. Or it could be high-level persecution, like going to jail for decades, or even being martyred. We will most likely be dealing with low-level persecution this week, and hopefully for a long time to come. But here's the thing: the apostolic practices that we're going to look at today are useful for any level of persecution, even one so low that you could hardly call it "persecution." These are the things that you should be doing to prepare for persecution, but they will stand you in good stead no matter what kind of life the Lord assigns to you. The practices of the apostles sustained them through persecution, and they will sustain you too.
