Your Life in Christ

By George MacDonald

Book Overview

After decades of being overlooked, George MacDonald's powerful nonfiction writings are becoming available to readers hungry to go deeper into their Christian walk. This volume explores topics that... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764200828
• ISBN13: 9780764200823
• Release Date: June 2005
• Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.8"

Customer Reviews

Reading George MacDonald is like launching out into the ocean depths

Reading George MacDonald is like launching out into the ocean depths. His words convey profound and original thought on subjects that are fundamental to the Christian life. This collection of sermons, taken from his Unspoken Sermons series, covers everything from the life that is in Christ to self-denial, freedom, our relationship to God as children and more. The ideas expressed are foundational to MacDonald's emphasis on obedience and sonship (or childship), making it a valuable introduction to his work. He shows so clearly what it means to follow Christ that I wondered how I could be so blind. That is often the impact of those like MacDonald, who know what they are talking about. Phillips does an outstanding job of summarizing the history of MacDonald's literary career. Until recently he was largely forgotten and most of his works were out of print. His introduction is the best commentary of the rise and fall of MacDonald's popularity that I have read. This is one book worth having just for the introduction. Phillips also does an excellent job of making MacDonald's thought, which can be complex at times, easier to understand. The sermons are slightly edited for clarity. Phillips follows each sermon with a chapter where he shares his own insights gleaned from the writing. It gives you another chance to more fully digest the topic. One of the delights is seeing MacDonald challenge an accepted interpretation of a verse. He goes beyond the English words to the best texts available to get at the intent of the original. He provides convincing evidence to conclusions that are more reasonable than controversial. This book contains a wealth of spiritual insight that is worth discovering.

An introduction to George MacDonald's theology

Michael Phillips has long been a student of the writings of the 19th century Scottish preacher and novelist George MacDonald. His goal is to bring MacDonald's thoughts to contemporary American readers in Your Life in Christ, a collection of MacDonald's sermons that have been edited by Phillips with commentary provided. The content of the sermons is rich, in that the portions of sermons selected by Phillips adequately convey the essence of MacDonald's theology. These particular sermons present MacDonald's perspective on such topics as creation, the incarnation, redemption, eternity, and self-denial. They relate deep themes, such as the loving fatherhood of God, for which MacDonald states, "Love is at the root of all his being." He also examines the revelation of God in Christ, for we come to know God through Jesus. Furthermore, the supreme example of Christ's obedience to the Father is His expression of love for the Father, and also the result of being completely who He is. Our own obedience to God brings the highest joy and deepest fulfillment, a dominant message throughout MacDonald's writings. Your Life in Christ as a stand-alone volume is inspirational, and it must be noted that the work of editing George MacDonald's sermons was previously done in 1976 by Rolland Hein in a volume called Creation in Christ. Phillips' much shorter edition includes just a handful of sermons, but also his own personal commentary, which is mostly endorsing and agreeing with MacDonald, quoting heavily from the sermons, emphasizing key concepts, and relating what he has said without adding much new thought on the subjects. Nevertheless, I commend Phillips for his passion to make MacDonald's writings accessible to a general readership. As Phillips states, "If it takes some mental horsepower to keep with him, our efforts are well worth it." Thus, this book is recommended for anyone desiring an introduction to George MacDonald's theology. -- Dr. Pamela L. Jordan, Christian Book Previews.com (Dr. Jordan's doctoral dissertation was on the life and writings of George MacDonald)