Team Bonham - Called and Equipped by God

Ecclesiastes 4 
Bill and I are a team. We are Team Bonham. When we married, we decided to follow the advice in  Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. Verses 9-10 says two people are better than one because you get a good return for your labor, one can pick the other one up, you can keep each other warm, and you can defend each other. 

Then, verse twelve states that a cord with three strands is not quickly broken.  We consider our marriage a cord with three strands - God is the first strand interwoven with a Bill strand and a Sallee strand. We are stronger together. We worship Jesus together, we read and discuss the bible together, and we support each other every day. Our goal is to Love God First, then each other. We are entwined spiritually.

We are active in motorcycle ministry, children's ministry in our home church and church association, and evangelism. Now God has called us into a new area - grief.

Sallee's Call I received a call asking me to serve on a grief team at a women's conference. My experience with losing my late spouse and leaning on Jesus the whole time has equipped me to encourage my sisters in Christ. However, I knew I was going to study grief in my discipleship bible. Additionally, I prayed asking for guidance. 
Bill's Call Two days later, Bill was asked to speak at a Saturday memorial service. Bill is ordained and an evangelist. Wedding services, witnessing, and general sermons have been the extent of his experience. He prayed about it and accepted the call to speak. 

God obviously has a plan for both of us in the area of grief ministry.
Bill and I began praying about the memorial service and my counseling call. 

Answered Prayer?
During my drive to work, my thoughts turned to Lazarus, Mary, Martha and Jesus' friendship Answered prayer? Could be. I made a mental note to talk to Bill about using this story in his message and for myself to read the story in John 11 and my bible commentary. 
Working in Tandem
When I arrived home, Bill and I talked about my day and his. Then, I told him how the story of Lazarus and Jesus had occurred to me. Bill considered it for a minute or two, and said he thought that would work. I volunteered to look for a funeral sermon outline that would fit his preaching style. Remember, two people are better than one because you get a good return for your labor. After a quick Google search using the phrase "funeral sermon," a page of search results from sermon.com results appeared and I just clicked on the first one. 
When God is Involved
You will not believe what happened next, or maybe you will if you know how amazing Jesus is. The first sermon was by a Baptist pastor named Brian Bill. We are Baptist, the memorial service is at a Baptist church, and Bill is my husband's first name. Additionally, the sermon was written in a style that closely follows my husband Bill's preaching. Now here is the really good part, the lesson in the sermon was------Lazarus' death and Jesus arriving four days later. When God is involved in equipping his servants, everything just falls into place!

Bill and I spent a little time copying, pasting, and editing the sermon into a briefer version, a Bill Bonham version. After reading the message several times, we both agreed that it was perfect. 

The Holy Spirit has us both feeling joyful and full of praise for our infinite, living God who is equipping us for a new opportunity to serve him.