THIS IS NOT A HASTILY ASSEMBLED SCAN OR "FACSIMILE EDITION" OF THIS WORK. EVERY LETTER AND WORD OF THE ORIGINAL HAS BEEN RESET AND CAREFULLY PROOFED FOR ACCURACY. C. S. Lewis said, "I know hardly any other writer who seems to be closer, or more continually close, to the Spirit of Christ Himself." THE HOPE OF THE GOSPELS is a series of beautifully written sermons by one of the most prolific and celebrated Scottish writers and novelists of the Victorian era -- George MacDonald (1824 - 1905). He was an internationally renowned speaker and author of faerie stories for adults and children who counted Mark Twain, Lewis Caroll, Ralph Waldo Emerson and John Greenleaf Whittier among his friends and admirers. Among his writings are Phantastes, At the Back of the North Wind, Sir Gibbie, The Princess and the Goblin, Lilith, and The Light Princess. He has been a major influence on writers of the 20th century, including G. K. Chesterton, W. H. Auden, Madeleine L'Engle and more. He directly influenced C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. In MacDonald's sermons and writings God never shouts. Rather, His is the urgent and insistent voice Elijah heard on the mount, not speaking from the great and strong wind, the earthquake or the fire. It is a still small voice that compels you to lean closer to learn the secret. But be warned Only consider reading this book if you more deeply, more inexpressibly want to understand Holiness, because MacDonald will comfort you as he pulls the rug of pretensions out from under you. As he said, "Man finds it hard to get what he wants because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because he would give the best, and man will not take it." For readers familiar with MacDonald's fantasies, this is an opportunity to see the depths of his Christian thought as he lovingly explores the issues of salvation, the remission of sins, the Word made flesh, man's relationship to God and his fellow-men, the reward and the burden of obedience, pets and animals in the resurrection, and more. This would make a wonderful gift for a Pastor, Bible reader, Theology student, Seminarian, or anyone interested in the Christian walk and Holiness. It would also be an ideal gift for Christian home-schooled students.