Good morning. Grace and peace to you. Westminster Books has a sale on the fledgling EBTC commentary series which has gotten off to a very strong start with volumes by James Hamilton, Thomas Schreiner, Andreas Köstenberger, and others. It’s great to begin collecting a series when it has only just begun! (Yesterday on the blog: The Legend of the Battle-Weary Crusader) My Christmas Gift Bought with a Child’s Heart I love this one. “Suddenly shy, my six-year-old hesitated, a worried brow replaced his eagerness. His eyes lost some of their shiny dance. Grasped between small hands of offering, he stretched it toward me, then sat back on his haunches. Behind him, lights from the tree twinkled, a kaleidoscope halo of color. His eyes never left mine, and I recognized how desperately he desired to please me with his present. I saw bare longing in his wide broody dark blue eyes. I felt their desire.” God’s Plan When Our Plans Fail I think you’ll enjoy reading some thoughts from John Piper on how God’s plan proceeds even when our plans fail. “Millions are Dying Without Christ”: Thinking Through a Popular But Insufficient Reason to Move Overseas “There’s much to love about this impulse. … And yet, I try to remind my Christian friend that this fact by itself isn’t a sufficient motivation for someone to enter cross-cultural ministry. For at least two reasons.” Finding a Church That Suits Our Every Need and Desire Is Not the Ultimate Purpose of Church Benjamin Watson says, rightly, that “finding … Continue reading A La Carte (December 9)