Charles Hoffacker

The Rev. Charles Hoffacker lives in Greenbelt, Maryland, with his wife, Helena Mirtova. He is the author of A Matter of Life and Death: Preaching at Funerals from Cowley Publications. Many of his sermons appear on sermonwriter.com.
Sermons and Bible Studies
The Burning Bushes In Your Life, Lent 3 (C) – 2004
It’s what people call “the good life” — a steady job, a comfortable home, loving friends and family. Moses has it all once he settles down in Midian. The years go by. Moses seems content with small pleasures and accomplishments. He never talks about his past or dreams about his future. He lacks any true […]
The New Gentiles, Christmas 2 – 2004
Where should we look to see the magi, the wise men, the Gentiles of today, the people perhaps different from us who are following the star to Jesus? May we consider this question with open hearts. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Today’s Gospel presents an epiphany. Epiphany comes from a […]
The Wedding Picture, All Saints’ Day (B) – 2003
Let’s consider a picture appropriate to this day, the feast of all the saints. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One feature of modern weddings are wedding photographs. In many churches, after the wedding service is complete, and the man and the woman are now husband and wife, and the congregation […]
Amputating Our Resentments, Proper 21 (B) – 2003
Today let’s consider some of the hard sayings of Jesus, and where their real challenge lies. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Ask a hundred people to identify their favorite Bible passage and it’s likely not one of them will mention these verses we have just heard from the […]
Tradition and Traditionalism, Proper 17 (B) – 2003
Sometimes when we hear the Bible in our own language, it’s helpful to translate it yet again into our time and place. Let’s do that today. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The conversation we heard about in the Gospel that was just read with its references to religious hand washing […]
The Dream of the Table, Thanksgiving Day (A) – 2002
On this day, the people of our land all dream the same dream. From one end of the nation to the other, in the cities and in the suburbs, in the towns and on the farms, we dream a common dream. The dream reveals the best that is in us as a people. It shows […]
The Unexpected Harvest, Proper 22 (A) – 2002
Among the most powerful forces we experience in life are expectations. Some expectations come from other people. Parents, spouses, peers, bosses, friends, children, neighbors, customers, and plenty of others all have their expectations of us. They expect certain things regarding our speech, our behavior, our character. Often, the most influential expectations are the ones that […]
When the Moment of Crisis Comes, Advent 4 (A) – 2001
The simple truth is this: none of us avoids a crisis. All of us have trouble in the course of our lives. Someone may appear to be always on top of the world, but this observation may only show that we do not know that person well. Take a man who is successful in business, […]
Waiting and Wonder, Advent 1 (A) – 2001
[RCL]: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 Today we find ourselves on the opening day of Advent. Let’s take a look at the patterns of life that this season offers us. In the name of God: Father. Son, and Holy Spirit.Looking around the church, we may well see the traditional signs of Advent: […]
Word Made Flesh, Christmas Day (III) – 2001
Let this sermon begin with an invitation. Lift your hand in front of your face, and look at it. The reason your hand exists, from one moment to the next, is the Word of God. The Word of God always has been and always will be. All things were made through this eternal Word, and […]
The Joy Known to God, Christmas Eve – 2001
Miss Manners would bury her head in shame! Miss Manners would hang her head in shame at the regrettable hospitality and gift-giving that appear in the Christmas story. Joseph returns to his old hometown. What takes him there is no pleasure jaunt, but a government census designed to increase income from taxation. No doubt this […]
The Family Album, Proper 23 (C) – 2001
Today, let’s talk about family albums, including the one all of us share. In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. A prized possession for many families is their photo album. I am sure that many of us have photo albums, or collections of slides or videos, that are important to us. A […]
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