a stop near plains' high school and head to the carter residence for a private ceremony. is

home december 29. he was 100 years old.

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>> and one. and two.

and three. and four. and five. [indiscernible] ♪ >> please be seated.

peace. salam. shalome. we are here to honor the life of

president jimmy carter, a faithful partner to rosalynn. [speaking spanish] a proud parent to jack, jeff, chip and amy. a gifted poet. a neighbor in this tiny peanut-loving town of plains. and a global peace maker. in this sacred space filled with red velvety pews and feet planted on green carpet, we are united in our humanity, in our need to love and be loved. though our stories and proximity differ, we are here because we have been impacted by the earthly presence of this remarkable human. a leader who used his power not for selfish gain, but humbly in service of all.

would you please join me in prayer. creator, we are gathered here today with souls stripped naked with grief. and silent tears stuffed with memories trickling down our faces. we know death is inescapable and yet when it arrives, we often are ill-prepared for the weight of its reality upon our chest. may we be attentive, tender and protective of one another as collectively we have been draped in a blanket of sorrow. exhaustion has been an unwelcome companion for days. our eye sight is blurry, our emotions, frail. and our steps feel unsteady. may we ease one another's pain with tangible skin to skin love like fingers interlocking, arms wrapped in a warm embrace, and

kisses on foreheads. when we lock eyes with one another, may only the language of comfort be exchanged. on our darkest days, help us to trust that hope is on the horizon. may we extend grace to ourselves as we navigate the days ahead. and when our eyes readjust and our steps feel more secure, let us again join in the work set before us. for we have been called to action. we will reap what we sow. the seeds of quality, justice, humility and freedom were planted by president carter and rosalynn and they are now ours to tend here in plains, in the united states, and in the world. may tyrants tremble as the soil

beneath them is disrupted, for our hands are on the plows. may we loosen our grip, god, on the labels that we place on ourselves and on others so that we may see the sacred worth of each and every human. following the examples set before us by jesus, and by jimmy carter. when we are clad in a hijab or kippa, wearing a cross or a bindi, we are each a divine masterpiece. the lord does not look at the outer appearance, but the lord looks at the heart. so, spirit, awaken us to the breathtaking mystery of your undescribable and uncontainable love. love known by many names, love that long to be at home within us. as mr. jimmy would pray, may our lives be meaningful in the

enhancement of the lives of our fellow human beings and may we never grow weary of waging peace. amen. >> ♪ o beautiful for spacious skies for amber waves of grain for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain

america america god shed his grace on thee and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea o beautiful patriot dream that sees beyond the years thine alabaster cities gleam undimmed by human tears america america god shed his grace on thee

and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea america america america ♪♪

>> he has showed you, o man, what is good and what does the lord require of you. to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god.

>> ♪ let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me let there be peace on earth the peace that was meant to be with god as our father let me walk with my brother

in perfect harmony let peace begin with me let this be the my moment now with every step i take let this be my solemn vow to take each moment and live each moment with peace eternally

let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me ♪♪ ♪ >> ♪ if we can take each moment and live each moment with peace eternally

let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me ♪♪ ♪ let it begin with me ♪♪

>> praise the lord, everybody. somebody say hallelujah. it has been a long ride. >> hallelujah. >> taking j.c. all across the country to d.c. in the cold. in the wind. on air force one. to the capitol. and back here to plains. at home. amen. >> amen. >> would you pray with me first, please, before i speak over my friend. father in the name of jesus, i just thank you for this opportunity. i pray, god, that your will will be done today. may the people be blessed by you and not impressed by me. comfort this family, god.

comfort all the friends, all the staff, all those who played a part in this great man's life. comfort the family more than anything. comfort maranatha baptist church, god. give them hope, allow them to stand on their faith. comfort those that are standing alongside the roads waving flags in honor of your great servant. give you the credit, lord. in jesus' name i pray. amen. last sunday our god called the sunday school teacher home. this ex-president, governor, senator. he called him home on sunday. today we honor the life and legacy of jimmy carter. a man of faith, courage and conviction.

from his humble beginning as a georgia farmer, to his incredible accomplishments as commander in chief, president carter embodied ideas of a life of service. in 1979 america was divided. president carter gave his speech, crisis and confidence, we had a confidence problem in our government leaders. he challenged america to recover the sense of unity and purpose that binds people together. in true jimmy carter fashion, i believe it's only fitting that his transition into heaven coincides with a pivotal transition taking place in our nation today. right before we swear in

congress, right before we have an inauguration and right before we get an opportunity to pick a new government. president carter is still giving us a lesson today on faith and hope while the world picks new leaders. president carter has given us a lesson today on faith and hope to be the guardrails of our democracy. the guardrails of everything that we do. whether it's building houses, whether it's helping the homeless, whether it's feeding the poor, whether it's giving clean water to those in africa, faith and hope should be our guardrails to everything that we do. the greatest forces of human spirit, faith and hope often seems to illusive from all of us. we see in the media all the

different things that take place and we wonder whether or not we have faith and hope and whether it's going to bring change about in our nation. president carter reminds us today that we can make a difference, that we can stand forward and make change in our nation and around the world. as i think about president carter's unwavering commitment to serve our nation with faith and hope, his covenant to spread joy is a testament to his character and his leadership. he advocated for justice, fairness and equality for all people, regardless of race, creed or gender in america. all around the world he championed civil rights, worked tirelessly to end discrimination and protect the environment. and urged us to lend a hand. he knew what it was like to live in public housing. because after he got out of the

military, right down the road here, he ended up living in public housing. he was grateful to a nation that gave him a place called home. and later on, those same circumstances years later, he had very, very different circumstances where he ended up back in public housing called the white house. [laughter] he would find himself in public housing once again. he was a servant leader who called -- who was called by two books. when i think about president carter, taking his left hand and rising his right hand and making a covenant with his god that he would serve this nation and serve it well. he was called by two books. there's a big book standing outside of the carter center, his office in atlanta, this big,

massive book. it's so big you wouldn't want to pick it up. but it's a big book and it talks about the duties of the president. this book tells him when to appoint the supreme court justices, this book tells him about carrying out the duties of a president. this book tells him all the things that he should do as a president of the united states. but there's another book. a book that he put his left hand on when he was a state senator. the book that he put his left hand on when he was an officer in the navy. a book that he put his hand on when he became governor of georgia. that same book that he put his hand on when he became the president of the united states. that book that taught him about faith and hope, that book taught

him about loving your neighbor, that book that taught him about there should be no discrimination in our country. that book that allowed him to go around and talk about i can build homes in america for the poor. why? because my savior has already built a mansion for me. that book that gave him hope when he fell. that book that gave him hope when he had cancer. that book that told him about the love, taught about him genesis, taught him about exodus, taught him about revelations. but more importantly, taught him about galatians. chapter 5, verse 22 to 23. and it reads this. it says, but the fruit of the spirit is love.

joy. peace. long suffering. gentleness. goodness. faith. temperance. against such there is no law. some of you will catch this later on when you go up to the carter center and look at the big presidential book, if you had no faith, you have no hope, you have no love, you have no joy and you don't have the fruits of the spirit, against it there is no law. you see, when president carter took office, the outlook for the nation was deeply divided by strength and sharp political division. sound like we're there today. where we need the fruits of the spirit. where we need love. where we need joy. where we need long suffering.

where we need peace, temperance. where we need meekness and faith. because against this there can be no law for our nation. if we have not any of these fruits of the spirit, then maybe we should just take off the words in god we trust on our currency. jimmy carter, in the years since america has often reflected on the turmoil of the era which many are focusing on perceived a lack of the moral compass in the political arena. a lot of the experts will judge president carter on the big book. his political accomplishments. whether he failed or whether he did some great things and all the commentators are talking on all the networks, talking about the big book. but to know the man, you got to know the book. to know the man, you got to know

the book that made the man. you got to know the fact that he had a young lady in his life by the name of rachel clark. rachel clark, a black woman, who worked on his daddy's farm. walked with him and take him fishing. a black woman who would tell him about the lord jesus christ. a black woman who would tell him what it means to be a man and love your wife. in order to know about jimmy carter, you have to know about bishop william decker. an a.m.e. bishop who would stand outside his father's farm by the fence and talk to his father about the book so that he can teach those that's working on the farm about the book. and president carter sat with me one day, he told me this bishop taught me about jesus christ.

i remember when he put us in a car, got the secret service together and he lined them up outside the gate and he called me on the phone and he said, tony, where are you? jack, i told him i was 10 minutes out. in reality i was 15 minutes out. he said, hurry up and get here. i pushed the gas pedal a little harder and when i got there, got in his caravan and he drove, pulled to the side of the road to an unmarked gravesite. the 39th president was there, pushing him in the wheelchair, secret service behind, i'm scared to death because some of these gravesites look like you can fall right in. i'm an old city boy. i saw the ant hills and all the things, i was afraid. but he was pushing and saying,

look, over here. this is bishop william decker, that's him, made a difference in my life. over here is a father who fought in world war i, black man, made a difference in this nation. over here exists a son who fought in world war ii who made a difference in this nation. walking around, i couldn't understand and wrap my mind around why would this man, a southerner from georgia, take this black man, his pastor, and teach him about the history of them? those that made a difference. it didn't dawn on me, jason, until i understood that it was all about the fruits of the spirit. about him giving me this passage through the book. because in the book, even black

people knew about the savior. jimmy carter wanted to make sure that his pastor knew that he made a difference in his life and took him all the way to the white house -- and it took him all the way to the white house. yes, what will our future generation think when they reflect upon our nation today? what will our children think? i often wonder what would the world be like for my 7-year-old daughter. often wonder what the world will be like after all this celebration is over. will we pick up the baton or will we just clap our hands and take pictures and say we were there? instead of moving it forward. picking up the fruits of the spirit. from the book. not the presidential book. but the book that became the foundations of his life. the book.

that made jimmy carter who he is today. the book where he sat here in sunday school, taught sunday school, and every time he finished, he challenged us, go out and do something for somebody else. go build a fence. go cook a cake. do something for somebody else. it breaks my heart to know that my friend is gone. but i hear the echo of his voice every saturday, asking me the four questions. tony, where have you been? what have you done? who have you helped? and how can i help you help them? you got to understand that sometimes he was weak and struggling.

instead of asking four questions he'd just say, where have you been? there were times he would ask, what's going on in maranatha? who is sick, who can i call? give me their number. some would get a call from jimmy carter. why? because reading the book j.c. had an encounter with j.c. j.c. became everything like his god, everything like his savior. we're here today because of the book. we're here today because what the book did for jimmy carter. we're here today, all of us, black, white, brown, others, all

around the world, i remember when he told me, tony, i need you to get the black churches and the white churches in plains to worship together. president carter, i'm trying. i can tell him today that he was the one to get browns and blacks and whites and others around the world to sing "amazing grace." "let there be peace on earth." i can tell him today. in his book, "why not your best," admiral rickover asked him two questions. one was, what range did you graduate in? and he asked him another question, why did you not give your best? today i can tell the admiral that j.c. gave his best. to the world. even in his latter days. today i can tell the admiral

that j.c. gave his best all the way to his dying moments. today, i can tell the admiral that i saw seamen at every air force base we went to, with the wind blow, seamen holding a flag, the flag is fully extended, he's holding the presidential flag, it's flapping like crazy, he's weighing about 150, every now and then that flag was lift him up, he would anchor it back down. he was freezing, he was cold but he gave us his best. then when we get to d.c., there was another seaman holding a flag. the wind was blowing. it was cold. he was holding this, he's

holding the presidential flag, he's giving his best. i know we had a lot of ceremony. i know we walked town to the capitol, i know we did all the things. but i would imagine today president carter would have stop and walked over to the those seamen and said, thank you for giving me your best. i imagine the last sunday when god opened up the doors and said, jimmy, come on home, that there was an angel in the back ringing the bell 39 times. i imagine that those who have been on a detail, planning his demise, start running because they went before he did. i imagine some of his friends that helped build the carter center come running to the gate because the angel was ringing

the bell 39 times. i imagine that his mom got up and said i hear the bell, i hear the bell. i imagine his bride started pushing her way to the gate. telling people, move out of my way. so i can get some sugar from my jimmy. before he starts building homes up here. [laughter] you see, all along the way, jimmy carter gave us his best. there's something i want to point out to you because the only way you can see it, you have to stop and look. we got here today, the pallbearers was carrying his body. army, navy, marines, air force, all along the way, soldiers standing on the post, saluting as they go by.

washington, d.c., at the capitol, all of them giving jimmy carter their best. i had to look up some of the nation's mottos about our soldiers. the u.s. army, this will we defend. the u.s. marine corps, semper fi. always faithful. the u.s. air force, aim high, fly, fight and win. the u.s. coast guard, always ready. but there's a phrase inscribed above the chapel doors of the u.s. knave academy at unanimous. -- naval academy at annapolis. it's latin for not self but country. i imagine that j.c. knew about that phrase. that every step along the way,

he came back to take over his father's farm, it still rang in his heart. not self, but for country. that's what every one of our soldiers have done. every one of the secret service detail for 40-plus years, keeping him safe. not self, but for country. every one of the aides that extended his life while he was in hospice. not self, but country. every worker at the carter center, not self but for country. the channel of you today, can you embrace that? can you embrace that? and let it be in you? let it be in you, let it be your

motto. not self, but for country. when you have that motto, you're making impact in the world. because the fruits of the spirit would allow you to go to africa and give somebody clean watertoe -- clean water to eradicate a disease. because the fruit of the spirit keeps you humble, brings you love, joy, and peace. that's who my friend, jimmy carter, was. i'll finish by saying this. i will finish by saying this, on a sunday morning, president carter was sitting in the wheelchair over there. a man in the back from africa with his family came in. he wanted to meet president carter. i said he's not teaching sunday

school today, i doubt he'll take any pictures. he said, please, please, please, i want to meet him, i want to thank him. i walked over to president carter in the wheelchair and said, i know we're getting ready but there's a man from africa who wants to meet you. see thank you. he said bring him there. we brought him up, and his family trailed him, and he fell down on one knee. before his knee even hit the ground tears was rolling down his face. he looked at president carter in the eyes, and said, i graduated from the university of michigan. my family is with me. you saved my life and my family's life. by helping eradicate the guinea worm.

and i just came back to tell you thank you. president carter leaned over and put his forehead on this man from africa's forehead and they both was bawling and crying. he took his arm and put on his shoulder. they both was covering each other and crying. i can only imagine the love that president carter felt, it reminded me when jesus said, wasn't there 10 leppers that i healed? but only one came back to say thank you. you see, to know j.c., it wasn't all about the thank you. it was the fact that he made a difference in one person's life. not self but country.

not self, but country. don't let his legacy die. don't let this nation die. let faith and hope be our guardians. god bless you. ♪

>> ♪ blessed be the tie that binds our hearts in christian love the fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above we share our mutual woes our mutual burdens bear and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear

when we are called to part it gives us inward pain but we shall still be joined in heart and hope to meet again ♪ ♪

>> let us say the lord's prayer together. our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. give us this day our daily bread as we forgive those who trespass against us. lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. amen.

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>> last time president carter was here and the navy was in the choir, there were sailors from all over. thousands of people watching, people spent time all out in the parking lot before they got here. he would finish his sunday school lesson by saying, thank you. caregivers could you stand, please? please stand. [applause]

dr. rain, you and the caregivers extended my friend's life. thank you from a bottomless heart. we acknowledge all that you've done for him. thank you. maranatha can you please stand? you kept his legacy by teaching sunday school. you didn't want that burden. but uncle jimmy called you. you were called by the book. the sunday school book and the book of uncle jimmy. all of you guys, you made life

pleasant for him here. all of you guys have kept this place alive. keep it going. where have you been. what have you done, who have you helped, and how can i help you help them? thank you. i love you, and there ain't nothing you can do about it. just protocol, the carter center , could you all stand? carter center, ruth, pauly, lauren, listen, jc would say thank you for all that you guys have done for him.

thank you. and sometimes they gave me a poundcake. general, thank you for your service of excellence to our nation. i know he would say thank you, and on behalf of the carter family and i would like to personally say thank you. carter center, the baton has been passed to you. our nation needs you to do more. thank you. for all that you have done and will continue to do on behalf of this great man. you may be seated. i feel like i am leaving someone out. carter family, i love you.

becky, thank you so much. jack, i love you. elizabeth, i love you guys. josh, jamie, all of you guys, i love you. thank you so much. thank you for all you have done for the carter's. please stand. [applause]

you are truly family to this family. all the way from the governor's mansion to the white house back to planes, you have been the glue in so many cases. this family loves you and wants to say thank you. you see, at the pearly gate, blacks are all at the gate with the whites and the browns and everyone. there is no difference. we thank you. you have been a blessing to this carter family. if i forget anybody, it's in my head, not my heart.

my wife is trying to tell me something. [laughter] park service. please stand. [applause] thank you. thank you. you have a big task ahead, and the nation is waiting. the nation is waiting to be able to walk onto the that compound and visit ms. rosalynn and jimmy. the nation is waiting to go by that gate where jimmy carter picked some wild roses and planted them so they can bloom every spring, so when his bride comes out, she can see wild red roses every day. he told me to do it, i don't have that type of talent. i have to buy roses. thank you.

you have a big task getting everything ready for him. finish the race. finish strong. continue on. i love you guys. ain't nothing you can do about it. that being said, we're going to have music by david osborn with our reception all. the church knows i am a crying preacher. i've been crying the last six days. these are tears of joy because j.c. has an encounter with j.c. ♪

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["hail to the chief" plays]

["old rugged cross" plays]

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