Evangelist Franklin Graham delivered a powerful Gospel message during an Easter ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Thursday.
He emphasized the significance of Jesus' sacrifice, stating, “When Jesus was nailed to the cross, God poured upon his Son all the sins past, all the sins present, all the sins future, and then Jesus shed His blood.”
Graham remarked, “The Bible says there's no forgiveness of sin without the shedding of blood: Jesus shed His blood on that cross.”
He elaborated on Jesus' substitution for sinners, recounting the agony He endured, including the moment He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” as His blood ran down the cross. Graham emphasized that Christ's resurrection brings hope, stating, “The debt has been paid,” and added, “You have to be willing to accept it.”
He cited the parable of the rich man and Lazarus from Luke 16, cautioning that some individuals he spoke to in the Executive Office Building “might be in danger of losing their soul.”
He paraphrased Mark 8:36, reminding the audience, “We all have a soul. It's going to live as long as God, but it's going to be in His presence in Heaven, or it's going to be separated from him in Hell. Hell is real.”
Reflecting on his own spiritual journey, Franklin Graham shared that despite his upbringing in a devout Presbyterian church as the son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, he struggled with his own sinfulness before embracing his father’s message in his early 20s. He recounted a pivotal moment at age 22, he “finally got to the point in my life where I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I wanted to run my own life, just do my own thing, but there was an emptiness.”
He recalled having asked God to “take the pieces of my broken life.” In desperation, he turned to God, praying, “You can have it. You can take it, put it together, and make sense out of it. You can have it again.” Graham testified that after earnestly praying that night, “God took my life, and He filled it with His Holy Spirit, so I'm grateful.”
He concluded his message by urging his audience to connect with God and expressing a commitment to follow Him as “Lord of my life from this day forward, forever.” Following his Gospel message, White House staff members rose to sing "Amazing Grace" in a moment of Easter ceremony.
Graham's message occurred just a day after President Donald Trump participated in a small Easter dinner with Graham and other prominent Evangelicals in the Blue Room of the White House. During the gathering, Trump remarked that the work of Christ serves as God's way of telling the world, “I love you.”
