In a powerful Easter message filmed by the melted remnants of fire -destroyed neighborhoods in California, Rev. Franklin Graham is calling the nation to remember that even in destruction, hope is not lost.
Filmed in the grace of lost houses to the fires of southern California, premieres “Easter from Ashes” at noon Et Sunday at Fox News.
“Can there be hope in the place of grace?” Graham asks in particular, standing between the ruins of the Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles. “This is a message of hope for people who feel forgotten.”
The program, which also features performances by Grammy Michael W. Smith’s winning worship leader and artist Charity Gayle, was recorded inside and around the areas still stuck in flames.
President Donald Trump waits for Easter dinner with ‘worship and prayer’
The music part was filmed on the Pepperdine University campus, only miles away from the neighborhoods that were flattened.
Broadcasting is the latest in a long tradition of Easter messages by the Evangelist Association Billy Graham, but this is literally based on the grace of loss – talking not only about the spiritual need but also about the physical and emotional pain felt all over the country, in the wake of natural disasters.
Volunteers with the Samaritan bag are looking for meaningful personal belongings for members of the Alvarado family in the ruins of their home which was burning in the fire on February 5, in Altadena, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In the last few months, Americans have endured a series of disasters: West Coast fires, floods and tornadoes throughout Midwest and South, and Hellenistic Hurricane in the southeast. In each case, the Samaritan bag – the international aid organization led by Graham – is mobilized to help.
“Passover is not the same for many this year,” Graham Fox News Digital told Graham Fox. “So many have gone through tragedy and devastating losses. But I want people to know that God has not abandoned them.”
Samaritan Purse has set disaster relief teams across the US to secure everything, from physical work to moral support.
Trump expects trust leaders for the Easter Prayer Dinner, clashes for efforts to get rid of America from Christian principles
In California, volunteers have helped families quench grace to recover precious things. In a particularly memorable case, a woman was looking for a porcelain vase – her grandmother’s heritage brought from outside. The team found it unbroken, inserted into a corner of the basement under clusters of ash.
“It wasn’t cracked. He didn’t break up,” Graham said. “For anyone else, it was just a vase. But for it, it was invaluable. This is the type of healing we are trying to bring.”
In other parts of the country, the Samaritan bag has helped restore mobility and shelter by replacing cars and rebuilding homes. Particating with Rick Hendrick of Hendri Automotive Group, the organization has supplied vehicles to families who lost everything.
“When people lose their cars in a disaster, they are stuck,” Graham said. “We’ve seen people walking in the store or relying on the neighbors. We just felt called to help yet we can.”
Currently, the Samaritan bag has more than a dozen house under construction, plans to continue reconstruction for at least the next three years.
While physical reconstruction is vital, Graham’s Easter messages focus on spiritual renewal through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He draws attention to the biblical reality of paradise and hell – a topic is often overlooked, but a graham said he believes it is urgently needed today.
“In this special, I talk about how Jesus preached in hell. And how he also gave us a way out,” Graham said. “He died for our sins. He was buried. And on the third day, he got up again. That’s the hope we have.”
Volunteers with Samaritan’s bag pray to Manuel and Emma Alvardo after helping them look for personal belongings at the grace of their home in Altadena, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
He told stories from survivors of the disasters that describes their experiences as close to death or even wonderful. A woman, caught in a flood, managed to grab a branch that could not be found later – something she believes was divine intervention.
“Some people say the angels saved them,” Graham noted. “Things happened that just don’t make sense different.”
Graham also spoke about his latest visit to the White House during the Holy Week, where he joined about 40 pastors for a private dinner and worship service with President Donald Trump. He described the president’s remarks as “the clearest message of the Gospel I have ever heard from an American president.”
“I don’t think we heard something like that because maybe George Washington,” Graham said. “He not only believes, but he is not afraid to say it.”
“We have a president who is not afraid of his faith,” Graham said on Friday Ingraham. “He did not leave this. He is very brave about it and clear about what he believes.”
Graham described Trump’s message at dinner as one of the clearest public assertions of the gospel he has heard from every US president. “He speaks of Jesus Christ, he speaks of his faith,” he said. “He will tell you that when that bullet passed through his ear on Butler, Pennsylvan, it was the Lord who spared his life.”
Volunteers with the Samaritan bag pray with Manuel and Emma Alvarado, both 86, after helping them look for personal belongings in the grace of their home that was burning in the fire Eaton, February 5, in Altadena, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The day after dinner, Graham participated in a service to the White House staff, including lawyers and administrative professionals, united by Pastor Greg Laurie and Pastor Jentezen Franklin, who administered communion. “It was a wonderful time of worship,” he recalled.
Graham credited the Trump administration to help cut the red bureaucratic ribbon that often slows down recovery efforts in disaster areas.
“California has been very difficult,” he said. “We have faced many delays at the state and local level. But the president pushed FEMA to act faster. This helped open the door.”
Click here on the Get Fox News app
As the interview closed, Graham turned into the essential message of the season.
“Passover is a very special time because Jesus Christ conquered death,” he said. “He brought our sins to the cross. He died. He was buried. But on the third day, he rose from the dead. And he will enter every heart that is ready to accept it by faith. This is the miracle of Easter.”
