Between stints as a Sunday School teacher at Plains Baptist Church and Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States and-on at least 17 Sunday mornings-the leader of Bible study with the Couples Class at the First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, D.C.

For the first time, the 14 known recordings of President Carter's Sunday School lessons are transcribed here in Mr. President, The Class Is Yours and introduced with the historical context of the issues confronting the President outside the church walls-from the collapse of the toxic Love Canal to the near meltdown of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the 444-day captivity of hostages in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

In his Sunday School lessons, President Carter rarely mentioned current events. Belying the cares of his office, Carter's words show him to be a consummate Bible teacher, deeply knowledgeable about the scriptural text and adept at uncovering practical applications within each text. At the same time, the President was personable, engaging and frequently humorous.

Whether you're a Bible student, a historian or simply an admirer of Jimmy Carter, each of the lessons in this book contains a gem of insight into a great Sunday School teacher who just happened to have a terrible day job.