We Can Do More Together.

And God saw that the light was good ; Genesis 1:4 God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:10 The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:12 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:18 So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21 God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 God saw everything he had made, and indeed, it was very good. Genesis 1:31

Then the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone ; I will make him a helper as his partner." [19] So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. [20] The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. [21] So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. [22] And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23] Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called Woman, for out of Man this one was taken." [24] Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. [25] And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed. Genesis 2:18-25 (NRSV)

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” Genesis 2:18

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" [2] The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; [3] but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.' " [4] But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; [5] for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." [6] So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. [7] Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. Genesis 3:1-7 (NRSV)

But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors." -- 1 Kings 19:4 (NRSV)

He answered, "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." -- 1 Kings 19:10 (NRSV)

“Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.” -- 1 Kings 19:18

“Me too.”

“…through love become slaves to one another.” -- Galatians 5:13 “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bear with one another in love.” -- Ephesians 4:2 “and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” -- Ephesians 4:32 “Therefore encourage one another and build up each other.” -- 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds.” -- Hebrews 10:24 “For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” -- 1 John 3:11

We can do more together … …than any of us can do alone.

There are 4.4 million lost people in Virginia. The most any single Virginia Baptist church baptized last year was 445. What are we going to do about the other 4,399,555?

“We believe that we were created to live deeply with one another, to carry each others’ burdens and to share our possessions, to pray for and confess our sins to each other, to suffer and to celebrate together. It’s in these sacred relationships and honest, loving communities that God transforms us. The way of Jesus cannot be lived alone.”

We can do more together than any of us can do alone.