Child in the Mist First Series – Sermon One Original by George MacDonald Paraphrase by Dale R. Howie "Childlikeness is the Divine." The Child in the Mist is the doorway to George MacDonald's Unspoken Sermons . It is not merely the first sermon in the collection; it is the foundation upon which the other thirty-five are built. Rather than beginning with doctrines or theological systems, MacDonald begins with a child. Through that simple image he gradually clears the mist that obscures our vision of God, ourselves, and His Kingdom. The title describes every one of us. We are children living in the mist. The mist is not our identity but our perception. We have forgotten who our Father is and, therefore, who we are. Throughout this sermon MacDonald patiently removes that mist, revealing the Father's character and inviting us into the life that has always been ours. One of the first things modern readers discover is that MacDonald writes differently than we think...
Series One - The Gospel George MacDonald had no interest in you thinking the way he thought. His desire was far greater than that. He wanted you to meet the One he met. That desire shaped everything he wrote. Like our own, his generation was filled with voices claiming to explain God. Many painted a picture of the Divine that would be considered cruel, unforgiving, or untrustworthy if found in our own fathers or neighbors. Such a picture obscures the truth of God as our common Father. MacDonald believed the deepest problem was not that people had rejected God, but that many had never truly seen Him. The Gospel changes when the Father’s face comes into view. That is where this first series begins. The Gospel is not first a message about what we must do. It is the revelation of who God has always been. Before there was sin, before there was fear, before there was religion, there was the Father, the Son, and the Spirit sharing Their Life together. The Good News is that this eterna...
The Inheritance Third Series – Sermon Thirty-Six Original by George MacDonald - Paraphrase by Dale R. Howie "Trust the Wind" The Inheritance is the final sermon in this series, a bookend with its matching pair, Sermon One, The Child in the Mist. This sermon is a reflection and summary of what we have seen and learned throughout this journey. Our Abba, our Heavenly Father, is the beginning and the end, and everything in between. He is not simply the One who gives the inheritance; He is the inheritance. What we receive in the end is Them, Father, Son, and Spirit. And what They have desired from eternity past is us. If we have not discovered the first light of heaven in our relationship with our Father, Brother, and Teacher, then heaven itself would be foreign, alien, like hell to us. For heaven is not merely a place we go; heaven is the fullness of continuous fellowship with God. The inheritance is not something separated from God that He place...
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