George MacDonald's influence is quite wide - C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, L'Engle, Auden, Nesbit, Chesterton - heck, even Mark Twain, allegedly; not to mention innumerous other souls. He was mentor to Lewis Carroll and well known to the literary luminaries of his day - Tennyson, Dickens, Thackeray, Trollope, Whitman, Longfellow...

This was my introduction to MacDonald - 12 of his sermons.

Sky Pilot MacDonald really excited me. He was interesting to read. Each of the twelve sermons was a small masterpiece in prose. I only wish that the preachers of today had as wide of vocabularies and as deep of intellects as MacDonald. I turn on AM radio today to hear slavering bulldogs frothing at the mouth, with vain repetitions. MacDonald wasn't a repeater of popular religious phrases, viz., "Amen, a door is opening, praise God, hallelujah, I feel the anointing" — no, MacDonald was anything but this type of soap-boxed emotional asininity.

Again, I must decry the simple pleasure of reading these sermons - the simplicity of the language complex in of itself, witty, with long well thought out sentences which leave you hungry for the next revelation. There is too a rich humor. At one point I actually laughed out loud - which I suspect is a rarity in sermon reading. I can't help but wonder if MacDonald had these sermons memorized or simply read them to his congregation.

I wouldn't want to muck MacDonald's sermons up by critiquing them, or pulling them apart piece by piece. They are each so complete, so succinct, one should digest them selfishly and relish the insights personally. Please do - and spread the Word. ( )