Seneca Falls First United Methodist Church

Seneca Falls First United Methodist Church Church

Sundays 10:00–11:00am

Sunday School begins in the Sanctuary at 10:00am and ends at 11:15 am

Nursery Available 10:15-11:15am

Coffee Hour is held after worship in the Fellowship Hall (downstairs)

Church office hours: Tuesday - Thursday, 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Closed Fridays

Weekly Devotional​​05/24/26​​​​​​Acts 2:1–21As we celebrate Pentecost this week, I keep thinking about what it must have...
05/26/2026

Weekly Devotional​​05/24/26​​​​​​Acts 2:1–21
As we celebrate Pentecost this week, I keep thinking about what it must have felt like for the disciples waiting together in the upper room. They were not trained theologians, they were everyday people like you and I. They certainly didn’t have all the answers, nor did they know exactly what would happen next. But they waited with expectation, trusting that God would show up just as Jesus promised.
Sometimes I wonder if we have lost that sense of expectation today. Life can wear us down. And can be exhausting. Right now the world feels divided and uncertain at times. It becomes easy to go through the motions and forget that the Holy Spirit is still active and moving among us.
But Pentecost reminds us that God is not finished with the Church. The same Spirit that came like wind and fire in Acts 2 is still breathing life into us today. The same Spirit that gave courage to the disciples still strengthens us. The same Spirit that broke down barriers and brought people together is still working in our communities and churches. Pentecost is not just something we remember once a year, it is something we are called to live. We are called to live with openness, expectation, and trust that God can still do what only God can do.
This week, I encourage you to pause and ask yourself:

Am I making room for the Spirit in my life?
Am I open to where God may be leading me next?
The good news of Pentecost is that the Spirit is still freely given. God is still working among us and within us.
Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, renew our hearts once again. Help us live with expectation, hope, and openness to your presence. Breathe new life into weary places within us and remind us that you are still moving in powerful ways today. Give us courage to follow where you lead and hearts willing to share your love with the world. Amen.
Pastor Judy

05/24/2026

No matter how many times we wander, God’s grace continues to call us back home. Back to peace. Back to stillness. Back to His presence. Back to the quiet reminder that we were never meant to carry life alone.

Some days your prayer may be strong and confident. Other days it may simply be, “Lord, don’t let me drift too far from You.” And even that is enough for Him to meet you with love. If your soul needs encouragement and rest, our devotionals and peaceful worship playlists are designed to help you reconnect with God through scripture, prayer, worship, and mindful reflection each day. And if this ministry has encouraged you, monthly giving helps us continue creating daily faith-filled content, devotionals, worship, and peaceful resources for hearts around the world. Everything is linked in bio on our page. ❤️

Weekly Devotional​​​​​​​​ John 14:15–21There are times when life feels heavy and uncertain, and we wonder if we’re reall...
05/19/2026

Weekly Devotional​​​​​​​​ John 14:15–21
There are times when life feels heavy and uncertain, and we wonder if we’re really alone in what we’re carrying. The disciples were feeling something like that in this passage. Jesus had been preparing them for the fact that he wouldn’t be with them physically forever, and you can imagine the fear and confusion they must have felt. But Jesus gives them a promise: “I will not leave you orphaned.”
I love that image because it reminds us that Jesus doesn’t walk away and leave us to figure life out on our own. He promises the Holy Spirit to stay with us forever. Someone to guide us, comfort us, remind us of who we are, and help us keep going when life gets hard.
Jesus also talks about keeping his commandments, but I don’t hear this as a harsh rule or test we have to pass. I hear it as a reminder that love changes how we live. When we know the love of Christ deeply, we begin trying to live more like Jesus caring for others, showing grace, seeking justice, offering forgiveness, and loving one another.
And the good news is we don’t do that alone either. The Holy Spirit helps us. On the days when we find having patience is hard, when faith feels shaky, or when we’re simply exhausted, God is still with us.
So this week, if you’re feeling overwhelmed or alone, remember this promise: Christ has not left you. The Spirit is still moving, still comforting, still guiding, and still reminding us that we are deeply loved.
Prayer
Jesus,
Thank you for staying with us even in the hard and uncertain moments. Remind us this week that we are never alone. Help us to love others the way you love us, and guide us through your Spirit each day. Amen.
Pastor Judy

05/07/2026

I grew up in a Baptist church.
Not exactly a loosey-goosey denomination.

But even there, the invitation was clear:

"Come as you are."

Not because sin didn’t matter.
Not because truth didn’t matter.

But because Jesus was trusted enough to do the transforming.

Somewhere along the way,
a lot of Evangelical Christianity
traded that invitation for something else.

"Come as you are" has morphed into:

"Come as my definition of Christian."

sometimes with their second greatest command:

"Come ready to condemn the people we’ve decided God is most mad at."

And somehow, we called that “truth.”

Now, I already know the
angry thumbs are warming up
to rage type at me:

“You’re loving people straight to hell.”

No.

I’m refusing to hate people,
marginalize people,
shame people,
and call it discipleship.

I’m refusing to confuse cruelty with conviction.

I’m refusing to pretend Jesus said, “They will know you are my disciples by how well you hate everyone else’s sin.”

He didn’t.

He said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

And He said the greatest commands were to love God
and love our neighbor.

Not win the culture war.
Not dominate comment sections.
Not use “love the sinner, hate the sin” as a loophole for contempt.

Because God knows our hearts.
And if we’re honest, so do we.

Sometimes it isn't love.
And hate in the name of Jesus...
is still hate.

Sometimes it’s disgust
wearing a Bible verse.

Sometimes it’s political control
cosplaying as Christian conviction.

Jesus told religious people
with stones in their hands...
to drop them.

Yet somehow, we’ve built entire
Christian movements around
picking those stones back up.

That is heartbreaking.

Because a lot of people
haven’t rejected Jesus.

They’ve rejected a version of Christianity
that corrected them loudly,
loved them poorly,
and then blamed them for walking away.

You can ace theology
and still fail at following Jesus.

The Pharisees proved that.

So maybe the question isn’t
whether we can defend our beliefs.

Maybe the question is whether
our beliefs are making us more like Jesus.

More merciful.
More humble.
More honest.
More willing to drop the stone.

So for me personally,
when I stand before God,
I’d rather answer for loving too freely...
than to explain why my theology made
someone wonder if Jesus loved them at all.

Come join the fun at the Hangout!
05/07/2026

Come join the fun at the Hangout!

Weekly Devotional: May 3, 2025Scripture Focus: Acts 7:55–60This past Sunday we talked about Stephen. Stephen didn’t jus...
05/07/2026

Weekly Devotional: May 3, 2025
Scripture Focus: Acts 7:55–60
This past Sunday we talked about Stephen. Stephen didn’t just have courage in a single moment his faith had been formed over time. In the verses leading up to this passage, he shows a deep knowledge of Scripture, telling the story of God’s people with clarity and conviction. That grounding shaped how he lived and how he faced even the hardest moment of his life.
When the pressure came, Stephen didn’t panic. He trusted. Filled with the Spirit, he looked beyond his circumstances and saw Christ. And even in the face of suffering, he placed his life fully into God’s hands.
Stephen reminds us that deep faith doesn’t happen by accident. It is formed as we grow in our understanding of God’s Word and as we learn, day by day, to trust God with our lives.
We may not face what Stephen faced, but we all encounter moments of uncertainty, fear, or struggle. In those moments, what we have rooted ourselves in matters.
This week, consider:
How are you deepening your understanding of Scripture?
Where is God inviting you to trust more fully?
What would it look like to place your life more completely in God’s hands?
Faith grows when we stay rooted in the Word and when we trust God not just in part but fully.
Prayer
Gracious God,
help us to grow in our knowledge of your Word and in our trust in your ways.
Shape our hearts through Scripture, and teach us to place our lives fully in your hands.
Fill us with your Spirit, that we may live with courage, faith, and peace. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Judy

05/07/2026

Proclaim the love of Christ, BOLDLY!

Please consider adding this event to your calendar. They are an amazing organization doing wonderful work!!
05/05/2026

Please consider adding this event to your calendar. They are an amazing organization doing wonderful work!!

05/03/2026

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

We hope to see you at Calvary Baptist Church to share in Prayer 🙏
05/03/2026

We hope to see you at Calvary Baptist Church to share in Prayer 🙏

Address

2 Chapel Street
Seneca Falls, NY
13148

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9:30am - 12:30pm
Wednesday 9:30am - 12:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 12:30pm
Sunday 10am - 12pm

Telephone

+13155686306

Website

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