David Platt on All You Want for Christmas

The Russell Moore Show

Russell Moore

Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 December 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Russell Moore talks with pastor and author David Platt (McLean Bible Church, Radical) about his new book All You Want for Christmas, which is built around one verse: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.” Together they explore why this claim stands apart from every other religion’s story of humans climbing their way up to God—and why the Christian story begins with God coming down the mountain to us. Platt and Moore talk about what it means to believe in a personal God in a culture that prays to “the universe,” how to face grief and doubt in the “happiest season of all,” and why the wonder of Christmas is both more comforting and more unsettling than we realize. They also discuss the difference between divine service and the prosperity gospel, the surprising role of dreams and magi in God’s self-revelation, and what it means to repent and trust when belief doesn’t come easily. Platt shares stories from a Southeast Asian temple, a Muslim Uber driver’s midnight conversion, and his own family’s Christmas traditions—complete with “giving jars” and a goat that wasn’t for the kid who thought it was. Resources mentioned in this episode: All You Want for Christmas by David Platt Radical by David Platt Keep up with Russell: Sign up for the weekly newsletter where Russell shares thoughtful takes on big questions, offers a Christian perspective on life, and recommends books and music he's enjoying. Submit a question for the show at questions@russellmoore.com Subscribe to the Christianity Today Magazine: Special offer for listeners of The Russell Moore Show: Click here for 25% off a subscription. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this Russell Moore. This Christmas, did you know there's a way that you can support this podcast
0:04.7	and help Christianity today to equip more believers to live faithfully in this crazy, divided world?
0:12.3	Join us by sending your year-end gift to strengthen and empower the church to flourish.
0:17.5	Visit more ct.com slash flourish. That's more with one o ct.com slash flourish.
0:29.4	The good news of the Messiah coming, of Jesus coming, is that this world is not the end of the story.
0:39.3	Hello, this is Russell Moore, and this is the Russell Moore Show, brought to you by Christianity Today.
0:44.3	Here, we look for signposts in a strange time by standing fast to what really matters.
0:50.3	Kingdom over culture wars, truth over tribalism, pilgrimage over partisanship,
0:56.1	sanity over cynicism, witness over winning, and Christ over everything. Today we have a conversation
1:02.6	to do just that. Well, we are in the Christmas season and we've been in it for a while.
1:13.6	On November the 1st, I found it kind of abrupt, even for me.
1:19.6	And I'm somebody who starts the Christmas music.
1:22.6	People would say too early, those adventimentalists, you know who you are. But even for me, walking into
1:31.3	the grocery store and hearing that sudden shift from Monster Mash to Mariah Carey's, all I want
1:38.6	for Christmas is you in one day was a little vertigo inducing.
1:45.0	But here we are looking toward Christmas.
1:48.0	And I'm going to introduce you to the Mariah Carey to David Platt pipeline today.
1:54.0	Because he does not have all I want for Christmas is you.
1:58.0	He has all you want for Christmas, which in some ways I think is an answer to
2:03.9	Mariah. David Platt is my friend for over 20 years. It's unbelievable to think of how long ago that was.
2:14.5	He is the pastor of McLean Bible Church. And this new book, All You Want for Christmas,
2:21.2	is different than a lot of the Christmas books that you're accustomed to picking up. This one
	...

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