With the sensitivity born of time and experience, Charles Hoffacker presents an unusually warm and caring approach to preaching at a pivotal transition in human life, one which goes to the very heart for the Good News of Jesus Christ. Hoffacker teaches the reader, whether a seasoned preacher or a novice homilist, to find the key to unlocking the mystery of Jesus' promise of eternal life in mortal life now ended. "The phone rings and the pastor answers. The voice on the other and announces a death and asks if the pastor will take the funeral. Suddenly the pastor knows that the shape of the next several days will be very different from what he or she had been expecting only moments before. . . .As the preacher, the one designated to speak of eternal life in the face of this particular, painfully real death, the words of the sermon must somehow be God's own good news, though one of God's dear children lies dead. The gathered congregation of mourners, regardless of their professed beliefs, are likely to be eager to hear a rumor of resurrection."
