Igreja Batista
| Rua Silvestre Quintino de Freitas 126, Funchal |
2 oranları
5.00/10.00 |
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+351 919 062 844 |
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Igreja Batista haritada
değerlendirme
Stephen W (01.08.2017 16:34)
As a regular visitor to the church over a number of years I have found it to be a friendly place, with a core group of locals and expats who love the Lord and desire to see his Kingdom spread on the island. They also aim to provide refreshment to a constantly changing congregation which often represents several different nations. The church may not provide polished worship or world-class preaching, but in my experience does provide a warm welcome and the opportunity to share fellowship with other believers. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
As a regular visitor to the church over a number of years I have found it to be a friendly place, with a core group of locals and expats who love the Lord and desire to see his Kingdom spread on the island. They also aim to provide refreshment to a constantly changing congregation which often represents several different nations. The church may not provide polished worship or world-class preaching, but in my experience does provide a warm welcome and the opportunity to share fellowship with other believers. “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
J (25.04.2017 02:19)
While on holiday, we went to the English language service on the Sunday morning, as it advertises as the only English non-RC church in Madeira. The building was not very big, probably 30-50 capacity, half-filled that day, yet cosy and it appeared promising; the locals were welcoming and the visitors friendly. When the service started, we sang a few hymns accompanied by guitar, and had a reading from 1 Peter, all well and good. Then we were told the sermon would be given by a lay-preacher, an English retired expat, not by the pastor because his English isn't good enough. Our minds went on alert when the preacher said some things about not having a formal statement of faith but just the Bible. Then came the main feature, a sermon so vapid it served only to starve the sheep rather than feed them; if this were a restaurant with as enticing a menu and starter as we had received, I'd have sent this main course back. The preacher used a bait-and-switch to begin, reading a scripture then promptly changing the subject; he jumped around 30-or-so unrelated references, all out of context; he gave logical fallacies such as conflating all possible meanings of an obscure Hebrew word into a passage ignoring context; and the most heinous of all, he made out like God has set out to solve all our subjective difficulties if only we do such-and-such. This god is not the sovereign God of the Bible who extends saving grace towards sinners, but one who requires our works in order to improve this life. If only he had read a verse or 2 before or after his passages he would have been able to preach the actual gospel. The sad thing is that even though he has a different audience every week made up potentially of people from across the globe, a prime opportunity to save some and spread the Word, yet if an unbeliever walked in off the street they'd either remain unconverted, or worse, become proselytised to this false gospel. My advice to Madeiran-holiday-makers: stay in your hotel on Sunday and download a sermon podcast from a sound pastor (but be at your local church when you get home!).
While on holiday, we went to the English language service on the Sunday morning, as it advertises as the only English non-RC church in Madeira. The building was not very big, probably 30-50 capacity, half-filled that day, yet cosy and it appeared promising; the locals were welcoming and the visitors friendly. When the service started, we sang a few hymns accompanied by guitar, and had a reading from 1 Peter, all well and good. Then we were told the sermon would be given by a lay-preacher, an English retired expat, not by the pastor because his English isn't good enough. Our minds went on alert when the preacher said some things about not having a formal statement of faith but just the Bible. Then came the main feature, a sermon so vapid it served only to starve the sheep rather than feed them; if this were a restaurant with as enticing a menu and starter as we had received, I'd have sent this main course back. The preacher used a bait-and-switch to begin, reading a scripture then promptly changing the subject; he jumped around 30-or-so unrelated references, all out of context; he gave logical fallacies such as conflating all possible meanings of an obscure Hebrew word into a passage ignoring context; and the most heinous of all, he made out like God has set out to solve all our subjective difficulties if only we do such-and-such. This god is not the sovereign God of the Bible who extends saving grace towards sinners, but one who requires our works in order to improve this life. If only he had read a verse or 2 before or after his passages he would have been able to preach the actual gospel. The sad thing is that even though he has a different audience every week made up potentially of people from across the globe, a prime opportunity to save some and spread the Word, yet if an unbeliever walked in off the street they'd either remain unconverted, or worse, become proselytised to this false gospel. My advice to Madeiran-holiday-makers: stay in your hotel on Sunday and download a sermon podcast from a sound pastor (but be at your local church when you get home!).
