In a powerful Easter message filmed by the burning remains of the neighborhoods devastated by fire in California, Reverend Franklin Graham is calling the nation to remember that in devastation, hope is not lost.
Filmed in the ashes of the lost houses for forest fires in southern California, “Easter of the ashes” is released at Noon et on Sunday in Fox News.
“Can there be hope in the place of ashes?” Graham asks in the special, standing in the middle of the rubble of the Palisades neighborhood in Los Angeles. “This is a message of hope for people who feel forgotten.”
The program, which also presents performances by the Grammy -winning leader, Michael W. Smith, and the beneficial organization of Gayle artists, was recorded in and around areas still marked by flames.
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The part of the music was filmed on the Campus of the University of Pepperdine, just kilometers from the neighborhoods that were level.
The transmission is the last of a long tradition of Easter messages of the Evangelistic Association of Billy Graham, but this is literally based on the ashes of the loss, which speaks not only of the spiritual need, he felt the advice.
Volunteers with Samaritan’s bag look for significant personal items for the members of the Alvarado family in the rubble of his house that burned in the Eaton fire on February 5, in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
In recent months, Americans have supported a series of catastrophes: forest fires on the west coast, floods and tornadoes throughout the west and southern medium, and Hurricane Helene in the southeast. In each case, the Samaritan bag, the International Aid Organization directed by Graham, has mobilized to help.
“Easter is not the same for many people this year,” Graham told Fox News Digital. “Many have gone through a devastating tragedy and loss. But I want people to know that God did not abandon them.”
Samaritan’s bag has deployed disaster relief teams in the United States to provide everything from physical work to moral support.
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In California, volunteers have been helping families examine ashes to recover precious beliefs. In a special memorable case, a woman was looking for a porcelain vase: her grandmother’s inheritance brought from abroad. The team found it uninterrupted, hidden in a corner of the basement under lots of ashes.
“It was broken. He was not splintered,” said Graham. “For any other person, it was just a vase. But for her, it was priceless. That is the son of healing we are trying to bring.”
In other parts of the country, Samaritan’s bag has helped restore mobility and refuge by replacing cars and reconstruction of houses. It is associated with Rick Hendrick or Hendrick Automotive Group, the organization has been supplying vehicles to families that lost everything.
“When people lose their cars in a disaster, they are stuck,” Graham said. “We have seen people walking towards the store or depending on the neighbors. We simply feel called to help how we could.”
Currently, Samaritan’s bag has more than a household boxes under construction, with plans for continuous reconstruction for at least the next three years.
While physical reconstruction is vital, Graham’s Easter message focuses on spiritual renewal through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It draws attention to the biblical reality of heaven and hell: a topic is often overlooked, but a Graham said he believes that he is urgently needed today.
“In this special, I speak of how Jesus preached about hell. And how a path also cools,” Graham said. “He died for our sins. He was buried. And on the third day, Hey Rose again. That is the hope we have.”
The volunteers with Samaritan’s bag pray with Manuel and Emma Alvarado after helping them looking for personal items in the ashes of their home in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
He related stories of disaster survivors who described their experiences as close to death or even miraculous. A woman, trapped in an flood, managed to take a branch that could not be found later, something that believes it was a divine intervention.
“Some people say the angels saved them,” Graham said. “Things happened that simply make no sense otherwise.”
Graham also talked about his recent visit to Holy Week in Caveño de la Casa Blanca, where he joined about 40 shepherds for a private dinner and a worship service with President Donald Trump. He described the president’s comments as “the message of the clearest gospel that I have heard from a president of the United States.”
“I don’t think we’ve heard something like that since George Washington,” Graham said. “Not only does he believe, but he is not afraid to say it.”
“We have a president who is not afraid of his faith,” Graham said Friday about Ingraham’s angle. “I don’t shy away. It is very bold and clear about what you think.”
Graham described Trump’s message at dinner as one of the clearest public statements of the Gospel he has heard from any president of the United States. “He talks about Jesus Christ, he talks about his own faith,” he said. “He will tell you that when Bullet is there through his ear in Butler, Pennsylvania, it was God who saved his life.”
The volunteers with Samaritan’s bag pray with Manuel and Emma Alvarado, both 86, after helping them looking for personal items in the ashes of their home that burned in the Eaton fire, on February 5, in Altadena, California. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The day after dinner, Graham participated in a service for White House staff, including lawyers and administrative professionals, together with Pastor Greg Laurie and Pastor Jenteezen Franklin, who administered communion. “It was a wonderful moment of worship,” he recalled.
Graham accredited the Trump administration for helping to cut the bureaucratic bureaucracy that often slows 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. That helps open doors.”
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When the interview closed, Graham returned to the central message of the season.
“Easter is a very special moment 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 left among the dead. And he will come in any heart that is willing to accept it by faith. That is the miracle of Easter.”
