Starting a new series on Daniel, the pastor, Rev. Peter Richmond, set the scene in Sunday's talk. When Nebuchadnezzar first came to Israel he was not yet a king. Hearing that his father was dying he needed to return to Babylon in order to claim the throne - but he did not want to lose his power over Israel, so he took with him about 75 of the finest, most important young men in Israel. Daniel was one of them. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to train these young men into Babylonian rulers; he tried to erase the memory of their Jewish customs and allegiances. He started by changing their names, then had them educated in Babylonian religion and sorcery which would have been distasteful to a Jew. He also allowed them to eat food from the royal court. It was good food, but most of the meat would have been forbidden by Kosher laws in the Bible. Daniel and three others had accepted their new names and studied dilligently, but they drew the line at eating forbidden food, because that would have been going directly against a commandment of God. So they arranged to be served only vegetables for a week as a test, and they were found to be healthier and more handsome than their compromising companions. After interpreting a dream for Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was promoted to a senior position, and he faithfully remained serving Babylon's subsequent kings. Later Daniel so impressed the Persian king, Darius, that he ended up with the position of Prime Minister. Peter said of Daniel, "He was respectful and diligent, even though working for pagan kings. Yet he never compromised his faith. He would not bend, even when threatened with death or a lions den in his 80s... "But again God honoured his faithfulness in a miraculous way. The Bible gives no better model of how to live with and serve those who don't share or respect your beliefs." The service continued with songs and prayers and ended with refreshments. The fellowship meet again this Sunday at 4.15 pm in Carringtons Restaurant, The Atlantic Hotel, Tenby. All are welcome. Telephone 01646 681805 for more details.
