Leading a Worthy Life: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

Jimmy Carter (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Series: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study With Jimmy Carter | Publication Date: March 20, 2007

A unique and personal audio legacy from one of the most important voices of our time

Jimmy Carter's beloved bestsellers Living Faith, Sources of Strength and Our Endangered Values have established him as one of our nation's most trusted authorities on issues of faith and society. Today, the weekly Bible class he teaches at his home church in Plains, Georgia is attended by visitors from around the world, representing a wide range of faiths and denominations.

Sunday Mornings in Plains gives you the opportunity to share in this remarkable experience wherever you are. Each volume of this extraordinary audio series draws on an extensive archive of recordings to present a month-long sequence of President Carter's Bible classes. Listening to these live recordings, you'll hear the unscripted interaction and unexpected insights that make his classes so popular, as well as the anecdotes from President Carter's life and observations about world events that he infuses into his lessons.

Jimmy Carter has been teaching Sunday school ever since he was a young midshipman in Annapolis; in later years he conducted religious services on submarines on which he served, and even led the occasional class in Washington while he was president. For the last 25 years, President Carter has taught the adult Bible study at his church in Plains, where several hundred visitors join him each Sunday to understand the wisdom of the Bible and apply it to their lives.

Leading a Worthy Life presents the four classes President Carter taught in January 1998 on the Book of Ephesians. Describing basic tenets of Christian living that still resonate today, Paul urges us "to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4: 1-3)

As he speaks to the theme of reconciliation-with God and with each other-that runs through all four lessons, President Carter connects Paul's message to the concerns of our time, including such relevant issues as fundamentalism and disunity in the church, and shares insights into the practical application of faith in daily life that will challenge and inspire all of us.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Former president Carter, who captured a Grammy for Our Endangered Values, now embarks on an ambitious audio-only series. Since leaving the White House more than 25 years ago, Carter has led a weekly adult Sunday school class at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga. Each Sunday Mornings in Plains release will include past lessons grouped around a particular book of the Bible. Leading a Worthy Life explores Ephesians, which outlines the Apostle Paul's case for reconciliation and unity in the face of disagreement and division. The recordings date from early 1998, though the applications seem even more relevant in the face of September 11 and the conflict in Iraq. Carter firmly stakes out his theological claims in the left-of-center evangelical realm, a territory that such bestselling authors as Jim Wallis and Brian McLaren have recently rendered less lonely and isolated. Carter's unscripted and intimate discourse marks an auspicious beginning to a project that holds tremendous potential for bringing practical issues of faith into the public arena.
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About the Author

Jimmy Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, and served as thirty-ninth President of the United States. He and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center, a nonprofit organization that prevents and resolves conflicts, enhances freedom and democracy, and improves health around the world. He is the author of numerous books, including Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, An Hour Before Daylight and Our Endangered Values. He received a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy Award for his recording of Our Endangered Values. All of President Carter's proceeds from this series will go to the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains, Georgia.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio; Unabridged edition (March 20, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743561767
• ISBN-13: 978-0743561761
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good lessons even for the non-religious, May 13, 2007

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N. Shumate - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leading a Worthy Life: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter (Audio CD)

First I have to admit to being a Democrat and a fan of Jimmy Carter's public life after the Presidency, using his name recognition to fund public health initiatives in third world countries. However, I can't claim to be of a particulary religious bent. These lessons are very informal, recorded in Jimmy Carter's home church in 1998 and the sound quality isn't great--when someone in the audience speaks it's very hard to hear. But in the informality and simplicity lies its charm. Jimmy opens each lesson by telling what he and Rosalind have done in the preceding week, asking what other dominations or states/countries are represented in the guests who have come to listen to his lesson, and then asks for a prayer from someone in the audience before he begins. The lessons are from letters that Paul wrote and JImmy presents the message, often by asking questions of those present, in an unadorned, sincere way. This is not a smooth, professional delivery nor a pulpit-thumping evangelistic sermon. It is, as the title suggests, a country church Sunday school lesson but, whether you are religious or not, the principles presented are universal, the topics germaine to everyday life, and the goodness that comes through genuine. I don't see how anyone could listen to this set and not feel better at the end.

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and helpful, May 2, 2007

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Socrates - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leading a Worthy Life: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter (Audio CD)

The president has been teaching Sunday School since his Naval Academy days and his grasp and scope of the subject matter discussed is impressive. He invites questions and participation from the audience (congregation/class?) and the sessions are spirited and informative. His talent for taking current secular issues and relating them to specific areas of the scriptures is invaluable with surprising conclusions in some cases. Not afraid of tough problems or questions he plows through each lesson with charm, focus and an easy charisma.

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't Know What to Expect. Was Favorably Impressed, February 27, 2010

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Citizen John (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leading a Worthy Life: Sunday Mornings in Plains: Bible Study with Jimmy Carter (Audio CD)

Jimmy Carter, a former president, gave a set of bible lessons on the Epistle to the Ephesians. Ephesians is written in the voice of Paul (separately there's controversy about whether Paul authored this book and I don't have a position on that). Paul was a prisoner in Rome at the time awaiting execution. Paul explains about being a prisoner for the lord.

Carter was impressive in this taped set of Bible lessons given at various churches. He clearly understands the lessons of the Bible and I learned much more than I expected. Carter related the lessons of Ephesians to world events and the current era in the most natural and perhaps flawless way.

I had no idea that Jimmy Carter could give such direct, folksy Bible study lessons. Further, I had no idea he could connect so well with the audience. This former president is inspirational and if you haven't paid attention to him for many years, you'll probably be as surprised as I was.

The lessons themselves are excellent because they apply to our lives. For example, Carter explains how natural it is to think of oneself as superior to poor people in poor countries, just as it was during the time of which Ephesians was written. Carter explains how damaging our words can be when we say bad things about others. He does this in a manner of a wise and humble elder imparting common sense to the teachable.

I wondered what made it possible for a former president to be so humble yet so capable. This is uncommon. Maybe Carter's faith and Bible teachings are responsible. I would certainly attend his lessons if I could, and that's saying a lot.

Another thing Carter did that I think almost nobody would note is that he explained basic things about his travels to the audiences attending his Bible studies. For example, he had gone on a big family trip to Mexico and, without giving away the material, he had a facinating way of describing everything there based on what average people would want to know. He'd explain an Indian village and describe the physical appearance of the indigenous people. He told of his experiences talking with a famous artist and then described how much this artist's works sell for, and that's exactly what an average person would want to know. It seemed that Carter can connect with people.

Through this series I learned several good life lessons through Carter's explanations of the book of Ephesians. But I also learned a bit about the state of the world too. I felt perfectly comfortable listening to Carter's voice (he's the speaker) and quickly ordered another one of his Bible study books, again to my own surprise.