In what he considers one of his most significant contributions to the legacy of George MacDonald, Michael Phillips here presents the complete panorama of George MacDonald’s four books of sermons in a single volume. Climaxing a forty-year career making the writings of MacDonald accessible and understandable to the full spectrum of the Christian public—resulting in the publication of over 80 new editions of MacDonald’s books—Phillips sets this volume apart from all others, not only as his most ambitious, but perhaps his most important. Presenting 20 of MacDonald’s most influential sermons in their full original format, accompanied by his own edited and more understandable copy, Phillips highlights each entry with a concise "Central Thesis," then adds an insightful introduction that illuminates the significant theological ground plowed by MacDonald’s pen that, Phillips believes, is destined in time to change how Christendom perceives the underpinings of its faith. What emerges is not only MacDonald’s wisdom, but Phillips’ own as he shrewdly and perceptively distills what he calls MacDonald’s "transformational theology of the Christian faith." Added to the 20 complete sermons are condensed versions of the remaining 29—each again with a helpful "Central Thesis"—enabling the reader to mine the ore without laboring through dozens of pages of dense and incomprehensibly obscure word-thickets. The result is a massive tome of over 300,000 words comprising all 49 of George MacDonald’s sermons. It is a volume of incomparable value in understanding the Scotsman’s theological foundations.

As an unofficial spokesman and representative of George MacDonald in the minds of thousands who have discovered Phillips’s editions of MacDonald’s writings since the 1980s, Michael Phillips has been sought out by men and women from around the world to shed light on the complex conundrum presented by the doctrine of eternal punishment. Seeking to address these inquiries in the least controversial way possible, in 1998 Phillips prepared a private compendium of quotes from writers through history, laying out scriptural evidence on both sides of the controversy. His motive was not to argue for or against any perspective, neither to persuade to a particular point of view, but to give information that would help each individual objectively investigate the matter quietly and personally. Though not made public at the time, Phillips’s booklet proved helpful to many. It is now made more widely available in this new edition. His subtitle aptly summarizes the book’s contents: "A selection of quotations by some Christian individuals of repute who have held to the doctrine of universal reconciliation and a list of scriptures upon which their beliefs are based."