Fill the Stage

As a Christian, I enjoy hearing preachers explain Bible texts. The Bible contains 66 books that form a unified whole. Each book has a purpose and a unique message, but the Bible can and should be read as a single story.

Charles Spurgeon was one of the greatest preachers and leaders in modern history. His sermons were read worldwide and are still widely read today. For decades, he preached to thousands in London every week.

I recommend that you read Spurgeon’s sermons to your kids. They are an excellent tool for helping young people understand the Bible’s message about God, man, Christ, and his future kingdom. While his language is a product of Victorian England, it can be understood with a little effort. A parent can help a kid make sense of more challenging words.

The following sermon is about living a well-ordered life, a life that leads to happiness. I have read it twice, and it is worth reading more than that. It is full of wisdom.

Although C.S. Lewis’s writings and adult life are well-known, his childhood, adolescence, and the influences that shaped him are less so. Harry Lee Poe’s Becoming C.S. Lewis, the first of a three-volume biography, reveals Lewis’s thinking and education as a boy and his transition to adulthood.

As a boy, C.S. Lewis became deeply interested in stories about journeys or quests–the pursuit of something valuable. Stories like the Odyssey, the Arthurian legends, and The Faerie Queen shaped his thinking and imagination and eventually helped him understand what he was searching for. His childhood was marked by his mother’s death, books, music, long walks, difficult school experiences, and W.T. Kirkpatrick’s tutelage in Surrey, England.

The book does an excellent job of tracing his thinking (through his correspondence), intellectual and spiritual development, and his likes and dislikes. The author, deeply versed in the great books, helps the reader understand the great stories of Western Civilization and why they mattered to Lewis.

I recommend this book for high school students and parents alike. It enables readers to think about and experience what made Lewis one of the greatest minds of Western Civilization and defenders of Christianity.

The Inklings Fellowship is hosting two Narnia-related events in 2025. One will be in North Carolina in April and the other at Oxford University in July. The host is Harry Lee Poe, retired Union University professor and C.S. Lewis biographer.

At Oxford, C.S. Lewis became a renowned literature professor and established a lifelong friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien. For years, they and other writers met at the Eagle and Child across the street from the University to discuss their writings (including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) and enjoy each other’s company.

The trip includes free time to explore Oxford and its surroundings. Oxford is a beautiful town known for its University, culture, bookstores, restaurants, and shops. It is worth a visit.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will soon be performed at the Bible Museum’s theater in Washington, D.C.

I went to The Horse and His Boy a couple of years ago. It was very well done. The theater is large and world-class. I recommend it!

I am co-leading a tour with Chuck Holton to Armenia this spring. Armenia is a conservative, first-world country landlocked between Turkey to the west and Azerbaijan to the east. The capital, Yerevan, dates back 2,700 years. During the Greco-Roman age, Armenia fought to maintain independence from Persia and Rome, not always succeeding but building elite militaries and cultures. Xenophon, the great Greek General and philosopher, student of Socrates, and peer of Plato, led an army through the country and recorded his experiences.

Today, Armenia is a prosperous society with a thick culture. However, it needs friends and has turned to the West for support. Like the United States, Armenia has a Christian history. In A.D. 301, the king converted to Christianity. Armenia became the first nation to officially adopt Christianity due to the influence of Gregory the Illuminator, who spent many years in an Armenian dungeon. The dungeon remains under a monastery called Khor Virap near Mount Ararat.

The land surrounding the mountain served as the cradle of post-diluvian civilization, where Noah and his family lived and re-instituted society.

Descent of Noah from Ararat by Ivan Aivazovsky

In the 20th century, Armenia became a Soviet satellite country; this reality enormously influenced its culture, economics, and architecture. After the fall of the Soviet Union, Armenia gained independence.

Armenia is a window into the old world of Asia and Europe. The Silk Road crisscrosses the countryside and features ancient stone hotels. Other ancient landmarks, such as the Armenian Stonehenge, a massive mountain cave city, and old churches and fortresses, can be found on mountains and hills across the country.

Yerevan, the largest city, is an uncommonly safe, calm, and quiet modern metropolis. Near the central plaza, the Vernissage market offers Armenian handicrafts, like rugs, dolls, paintings, embroidery, chess boards, and old coins. It is worth a visit.

Armenia is an excellent place to vacation and explore: affordable, safe, first-world, calm, conservative, and enjoyable. The land is ancient and romantic and provides a window into ancient history and modern geopolitical challenges. The land of Armenia could have inspired the great C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia story world, and its beautiful land has inspired much virtue, art, and culture.

We will travel by bus through Yerevan, up the lush and picturesque north, and down to the mountainous southern tip. We will explore ancient places and enjoy Armenian food with Chuck Holton, a former Army Ranger, war correspondent, and world traveler.

Please let me know by the end of this month (January) if you want to join us. I look forward to meeting you there!