The fellowship met for their usual 6 pm service in the Greenhill Avenue Centre, Tenby, on Sunday evening.
After a time of praise and worship, prayer and discussion, tea and coffee were served and the pastor continued his series of talks about Joshua. After their victory over Jericho, the Israelites lost no time in trying to take Achan - but the men met with defeat, and the Bible says their hearts melted and became like water.
God had not abandoned his people or broken his promises, but they had broken faith with him because of one man's disobedience. Ai and his family had taken some of the treasures of Jericho, all of which had been pledged to God. His plundering had caused the death of 36 Israelites.
If only he had waited until after they had defeated Achan, Ai could have legally shared in all the plunder from that victory; for in due course the Israelites did defeat the town, by tricking its guardians into thinking they were fleeing battle again - so their earlier failure had become part of the war strategy.
Pastor Peter Richmond said: "One person's sin can affect his family, his church, his whole community. Sin is not excusable, but it is forgivable. God can incorporate even our failures into his victory. Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker."
Visit http://www.hesed.co.uk">www.hesed.co.uk for more information about the fellowship.