In This Issue

 

• EVEN HIS BROTHERS DID NOT BELIEVE

• CHURCH FOCUSES ON TEACHINGS OF NEW TESTAMENT

• MORE INFORMATION...

EVEN HIS BROTHERS DID NOT BELIEVE

In John, chapter 6, Jesus had declared Himself to be the “bread” from heaven. Many who had followed up to that point, turned back and “walked with Him no more.” “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, ‘Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.’ For even His brothers did not believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come.’ When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee, But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret” (John 7:1-10).

The Feast of Tabernacles was one of the three annual feasts when all Jewish men were expected to be in Jerusalem, Exodus 23:17. It was also called the Feast of Booths. Leviticus 23:42-43. It took place in the Jewish month of Tisri, corresponding to late September or early October on our calendars.

It is somewhat amazing that after growing up with Him, even His own brothers, James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, did not believe in Him. They challenged Him to show Himself openly to the world. Seemingly, they were unconcerned that the Jewish religious leaders wanted to put Him to death. Jesus answered by saying, “My time has not yet come.” The time would come when He would openly show Himself to the world, be arrested, tried, and crucified. But that time had not yet come.

Jesus’ brothers, on the other hand, had nothing to fear from the Jewish authorities. The world did not hate them or seek to kill them. They could go to Jerusalem as soon and as openly as they desired. The leaders hated Jesus because He had rebuked them and showed their works to be evil.

Would Jesus go up to the Feast of Tabernacles as required by law? Yes, but not yet. And not openly. For yet a little while, He remained in Galilee. Once it was nearer time for the actual feast, Jesus did go to Jerusalem, not openly but quietly and without fanfare.

Of course, later, after Jesus had risen from the dead, He made an appearance to His brother James, 1 Cor. 15:7, and His brothers came to believe in Him. Two of them even penned writings that came to be a part of the New Testament Scriptures, the books of James and Jude.

–Clarence R. Johnson

CHURCH FOCUSES ON TEACHINGS OF NEW TESTAMENT

By Dan Champagne, Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — Light does not shine through colorful stained glass windows at the Wallingford Church of Christ and there are no large religious statues hanging in back of the pulpit.

And that's just the way the church members like it.

From the outside, the church on Old Colony Road looks more like a humble home than a place of worship. Faded white paint tops the wood siding while windows sit on each side of the front door. The front parking lot probably couldn't accommodate more than four or five cars and the back lot is basically a small grassy field.

Inside the church sit seven pews facing the pulpit with one pew against the right side wall. The white walls are relatively bare except for a chalkboard hung in back of the pulpit. Two ceiling fans hang above the pews.

An office and a baptistery, which looks like an overgrown bathtub, are in a separate room. Downstairs are two rooms used for children's Bible classes. The church isn't much to look at, but Keith Clayton said that's not the point of a church.

"What we believe is the church ought to be a church," said Clayton, an evangelist working at the Wallingford Church of Christ since last November. "It should not be a business adventure and it should not be a social thing. Church should not be about food, fun and frolic. Our mission is to worship God and reach everybody we can reach."

Clayton said the church, which he describes as "un-denominational," can accommodate 40 to 50 people although it has only 15 members including him and his wife Lynn. He said he does not know the square footage of the church because, "we place no emphasis on that."

Sunday services are open to the public, but those who simply walk in are considered visitors. Clayton said a member is someone who "studies and ascribes to what the New Testament teaches."

"It's a matter of studying and making a choice," said Clayton, 58. "They have a choice to believe what Jesus is, what he did and what he says. If you want to come and be part of the social elite, you're coming to the wrong place." And those who are considered visitors are not asked to make monetary donations on Sundays.

"We don't feel it's appropriate to say praise the Lord and send us the money," Clayton said.

Arlene Billings, a Wallingford resident, has been a member of the Church of Christ for 32 years. When she started attending services in the mid-1970s, they took place in Sheehan High School before moving to Yalesville Elementary School in the early 1980s. The church bought its current building, which formerly housed an electronics store, in the early 1990s.

"I like it because we go by what the Bible says," said Billings, 58. "We don't add anything and we don't subtract anything and that's the way it should be."

Billings said she likes the small number of members because it gives the church more of a family atmosphere.

She was reminded of that feeling on Oct. 18 when she had a tumor removed from her colon at MidState Medical Center. She said Keith and Lynn Clayton sat with her husband, Raymond, from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. as she underwent surgery. Raymond Billings is not a member of the Wallingford Church of Christ.

"It's really like everyone there is your brother and sister," Arlene Billings said.

Clayton, a Cheshire resident, said the Church has members from all over the state including Glastonbury and Torrington.

"It's like the society we live in," Clayton said. "It's sort of an assortment of people."

Richard Glatz, the church treasurer and a member for 10 years, lives in West Haven. He said he has grown accustomed to the church's tight-knit community.
"When I was younger, I liked the larger numbers because I could kind of get lost in the crowd," Glatz said. "I've come to appreciate the atmosphere of this place and I'd like to think it would remain the same even if the numbers got bigger.

"Our primary purpose is to worship when we go and it's good to know that you're doing it with other people who feel the same way," he added.

Although Clayton and the church members would rather focus on the New Testament than church amenities, that doesn't mean that they are living in the past. Clayton uses an overhead projector to display PowerPoint presentations from his laptop computer during Bible classes and the church has its own Web site, www.wallingfordchurch.com.

And to top it off, the building already had a central air conditioning system installed when the church purchased it.

"That's one luxury we do have," Clayton said with a laugh.
 

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