July 5, 2026 · Deacon Jim Schell · Psalm 139:1-14; Matthew 11:25-30
Deacon Jim Schell, a lifelong lover of music, reflects on breath and spirit as the divine image in each of us: a love letter from God, hidden in the envelope of the body. By way of a country song built on Psalm 139, the message is simple: the person beside you is fearfully and wonderfully made, and so are you.
Transcript
The other day I was talking to a minister and he asked, what excites you about the church? And I answered the music and expressing God's Word through the music. The first day I came to this church, we met in fellowship hall because the heater in the sanctuary refused to work. The one thing about meeting in fellowship Hall is you sit closer together. Besides being warm. You could feel the love and acceptance. Being together in worship. I turned to Margie and I said, this is it. This is the church they want to be a part of. She was in agreement.
But let me back up to my childhood and tell you how I was raised with music all the time, because music was such a big part of my life. Even when I was in the nursery at the hospital, the nurses said the only time he stops crying is when Benny Goodman is playing on the radio. According to my mother, the time that by the time I could stand up in the crib, I was conducting an orchestra for music was always on at my house, probably classical music. And it might have been for the reason to keep me from crying. Going to church was a very big part of my life. My father and my mother were very active in the Methodist church where we lived, and because she was a soloist, we always attended two services. When I was old enough to have an allowance, I saved up and bought The Messiah by George Frideric Handel for my parents for Christmas. Not that they didn't know and enjoy it. My mother probably knew it by heart, but I listened to it three hundred times. So many times my dad went out and bought a new diamond needle for the record player. He thought I wore the original needle out.
The point is, music elevates, elevated me and lifted my spirit and my soul in such a joyful way. I truly believe that music is a gift from God and is often used in praise and worship and in many different ways, in many different forms, and many different composers. Here we are in a worship service, being together. God's words through singing hymns and reading of Scripture. And the stories have lives have been changed by a loving God.
I have often pointed out that a hymn, in many ways is a sermon unto itself. We sing to the one who knit us together in our mother's womb, according to God's Word. In Genesis one twenty seven, God created humanity in God's own image, in a divine image, God created them, male and female. He created them. In Genesis two seven, the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. That man became a living being. The breath of life he breathed into us. Is that the divine image? Definition from John four twenty four says, God is spirit and is necessary to worship God in spirit and in truth. Actually, there are forty eight Bible results. References to God is spirit.
Is that spirit in us, the divine image where we resemble God, our breath which we can't see, and the spirit which we can't see are both necessary for being alive. And at times we know and we feel its presence. The one thing I am sure of when I am singing and worshiping God, my spirit and emotions are raised to a higher joy, a joyful level that I can feel So that we. What we have in common is breath and spirit, both of which we can't see. It would appear that the gift of life. The love is a love letter from God which he hid down in our body. Our body, which is just an envelope of that which is holy.
We always must remind ourselves, keep in mind that life is holy. That another definition from First John four eight whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. It is our nature. Maybe it's a sin nature, but it is our nature to cloak the inner spirit with our own personality. Sometimes we do this well. Sometimes it makes it difficult to see God.
Even the breath. Even the breath of a song. Excuse me. Even the breath of a song about that was I'm sorry again. Even the Beatles wrote a song about that. Hey, you've got to hide your love away. How come the Beatles were so successful out of the two hundred some songs they wrote, most of them were about love. Interesting. As Mike's Spock friend would say, I am a techie.
Back to our hidden spirit within us. So how often we allow ourselves to think we are the originator of what God planted in our conscience? Not really. Not really. Really a problem for an all knowing, all seeing infinite God. He has a parent's love which he knows. He will bring us around to understanding that his world, that we are in his world and we are his children.
Some of have. Some of us have lots of hair and some of us don't. Some of us cover our hair with a red hat or a Green Beret. Yet, try as we might, with the best cloaking device, the shield of personality, likes and dislikes. When the Spirit of love which is in there is shared with our fellow human beings.
The thing that is beautiful about singing is the very best of us starts to come out. And when we sing in harmony collectively in unison, we really strengthen and multiply. Because the strength, there is strength in numbers and we elevate our union. We elevate our union of praise to a much higher level.
I will say that I have some shortcomings on the appreciation of country and Western music, most likely because the music was limited and not encouraging to me. I always heard the pain of loss and loss of connection. My wife done left me and my dog done died. I will say that there's more to it. And if you look around, some people have said, oh, I forgot to mention there's usually a pickup truck involved. Even the Beach Boys had lots of car related songs. A very common country. Very common description of country music is three chords and truth.
Just the other day, I stumbled on a country song that moved me because they had put the words of Psalm one thirty nine fourteen. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I'm not going to sing it to you, but the words in the poetry of this psalm is so striking. [reads the words of the song] Page turner. It's interesting. Okay, I'll pick this up. [reads the rest of the song]
I found it fascinating. All of the feelings, hurts, and needs were met and answered in the love of the Lord. Psalm eighty four five blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. And then in Psalm one nineteen, which is the longest Psalm in the Bible on fifty four. Your statutes have been my song. In the house of my pilgrimage. More than we think.
We are all on pilgrimage through stages of life. The one sitting next to you, to your right and to your left possesses the love letter from God, and they are fearfully and wonderfully made. In First Corinthians three sixteen, do you not know that you yourselves are God's temple, that God's Spirit dwells in you?
So in closing, I just just as we did earlier in the service where we shared the peace of God with each other, I encourage you to turn to your neighbor and thank them for being here and worshiping together. God bless you, for you were fearfully and wonderfully made. Shalom and Amen.