Most of the time we read passages like Luke 21 in light of an end-of-times narrative. However, I think that Jesus' hearers - his disciples and apostles - would have heard this narrative in a different way. Jesus was preparing his disciples with instructions for survival in perilous times. In their day, Jerusalem was going to be destroyed, the church was to be scattered through persecution, and disciples would be killed. How would they get through those times?

In many ways, our times are not so different. There is persecution for believers in Jesus - some that leads to death. Churches are in trouble for various reasons. And times seem to be getting more difficult. How to God's children cope?

In this podcast, I go back to Jesus' instructions for His first followers from Luke 21:5-36. Let's hear Jesus' words as they might have heard them, not as an end-of-times narrative. What do we learn of coping in perilous times?