Sharing gracious comments by my friend Matt O'Reilly

Matt O'Reilly is a dear friend and fellow United Methodist pastor serving at Jay, Florida. In his stimulating and excellent blog, Incarnatio, Matt recently wrote these kind words which I am taking the liberty to share with my readers:

NEW BOOKS WORTH A LOOK


I wanted to point to a couple of books that I was pleased to see published as of late. The first is Commentary on Selected Passages in the Four Gospels: Searching the Scriptures for Grace and Guidance; the second is Commentary on Selected Passages in Paul's Letters: Searching the Scriptures for Grace and Guidance; both are authored by Walter Albritton and will certainly be worth a look. I'm pleased to see these books come out because Walter is to me not only a mentor, pastor, teacher, and colleague but a very dear friend. I was privileged to sit under his preaching for 13 years, and to this day he is at the top of my call list when I'm in need of wise counsel. In fact, I actually started this blog after some advice he gave me on becoming a better writer. I'm excited about these books because I know that so much of his wisdom will fill their pages. Indeed, these two books (available from Amazon.com or from the author) are the product of nearly 60 years of pastoral ministry and reflection. Walter has always been able to draw insights from the scriptures and apply them to the life of the people of God in accessible and encouraging yet challenging and edifying ways. All who read will benefit from these books. I'm looking forward to reading them myself. Keep an eye out for a review or two sometime in future. If you'd like to get to know Walter a little better, you can check out his blog.

Lessons in Hope

Nothing less than the kindness of God has enabled me to prepare for publication my commentaries on the books of the New Testament this fall. The third and final volume is titled Commentary on Selected New Testament Passages Offering Lessons of Hope. Amazon.com will release this book for sale shortly after Christmas. The first commentary published earlier this fall is titled Commentary on Selected Passages in the Four Gospels. The second volume is titled Commentary on Selected Passages in Paul's Letters. Lessons in Hope will contain lessons drawn from the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Letters of James, Peter, John and Jude, and the Revelation of John. What is my audience in these books? My audience has always been ordinary disciples of Jesus Christ, the good people who are the strength of the local church. In my writing and my preaching I have sought to motivate people to fall in love with Jesus and to realize that the entire Bible is about Jesus Christ. The Old Testament says, "Someone is coming!" The New Testament says, "That Someone is here and his Name is Jesus!" My fervent prayer is that readers of these commentaries will be encouraged to dig more diligently in the Holy Scriptures and find joy in meeting the Christ who is "cradled" on every page. The books are available from Amazon.com or an autographed copy may be obtained by contacting me at walbritton@elmore.rr.com.

AUBURN WINS SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME!!

Auburn finished strong and beat South Carolina 56-17 to become the SEC Champion! Already ranked number one in the BCS standing, the Tigers now should face off against the Oregon Ducks in Glendale, Arizona on January 10! Cam Newton is the most awesome football player I have ever seen in a football uniform! What a season to be an Auburn die-hard fan who bleeds orange and blue!!! Now the Tigers have a chance to become the national champion team in college football. Wow! It is hard to believe. I had predicted a record this fall of 10-2 but I am happy to have been wrong! Go Auburn!!!!!

So far, so good!

Well, it is halftime in the SEC Championship game in Atlanta and Auburn is leading 28-14. The Tigers are doing well and I hope this will not be another nail-biter like so many have been. If Cam and the boys win this, they will play in the national championship game in Glendale, Arizona on January 10. WOW! War Eagle!!

The Big Test is coming Saturday in Atlanta

My Auburn Tigers have earned the right to play the South Carolina Gamecocks again this season, this time in the SEC Championship Game. The Tigers won 35-27 in a close contest earlier this year. I had predicted Auburn would go 10-2 this year but I was wrong. They are 12-0, and am I glad to be wrong! If they can win again, the door is open for Auburn to play in the national championship game in Glendale, Arizona in January. I am nervous but hopeful -- I am just praying that Cam will be able to put all the ugly speculation behind him and play his best game ever against South Carolina. Go Auburn! WAR EAGLE!!!

Two new books published this month

After much editing, and eye strain, I have managed to get two more books published by Amazon.com. The first is titled Commentary on Selected Passages in the Four Gospels.
The second is titled Commentary on Selected Passages in Paul's Letters.
Both are now available from Amazon.com.
These commentaries are a compilation of lessons I prepared over the past 20 years while writing a commentary to supplement the International Sunday School lessons for adults. I revised and updated each one, hoping that the lessons could provide helpful insights about how the Bible speaks to us today.
My prayer is that these commentaries will inspire my readers to discover anew biblical truth that should guide our living in these days.

New Book Published this week

Amazon.com now has made available another of my books. The latest one is titled Leaning Over the Banisters of Heaven. Subtitle: Balcony People Make the Difference. This is the book that was inspired by the book, Balcony People written by Joyce Landorf Heatherley several years ago. Joyce's book was a gift to me from my longtime friends Grady and Celestra Rowell. The book introduced me to the concept of balcony people and basement people, and triggered a new understanding of human relationships. For ten years I have been encouraging people to get in the balcony of their family and friends, and thus make a beautiful difference in their lives. At the same time I have reminded people that they do not have to give their basement people the privilege of ruining their lives. I hope all my friends will check out this concept and decide to live the rest of their lives as balcony people. Since publishing four books this year, I am now working hard on my commentaries on the Scriptures. I hope to get them published before the end of the year. My first volume will be titled Commentary on the Four Gospels. The second will be titled Commentary on Paul's Letters. I am so thankful that the good Lord has given me grace and strength to put together these writings and my prayer is that at least a few people will find helpful. In my spare time I have been reading Truman by David McCollough and this week began reading also the book by Douglas MacArthur, Reminiscences. Both men were giants in the leadership arena. As a devotional I am also reading again My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers; this book has impacted my life second only to the Bible.