Reverend Franklin Graham Takes to Small Town with a Big Message
Rev. Franklin Graham recently took a message of hope to the places often bypassed in modern America through his “God Loves You Tidewater Tour.”
The impact was clear when he wrapped up the tour Sunday in Edenton, North Carolina, as 7,600 people attended. As noted by a representative of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association the turnout “was remarkable for a town that only has a population of 4,400 people,” according to Fox News.
Graham started in the Maryland towns of La Plata, Timonium, Elkton and Salisbury this spring before traveling to Portsmouth, Virginia, and Edenton. About 35,000 turned out over those six stops, according to CBN.
“If you can’t remember anything else tonight, remember that God loves you,” Graham told the Portsmouth crowd, according to WAVY-TV.
“We’ve all sinned and come short of God’s standards, but He sent His Son Jesus Christ from heaven to this earth to save you. He came to take our sins, and the Bible says whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.” Graham said Saturday.
During the God Loves You Tidewater Tour we took the Gospel of Jesus Christ to six communities in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Watch this video to see a glimpse of what God did in the lives of those who attended… pic.twitter.com/RhFLaXNGVo
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) May 10, 2023
Graham took on tough topics in his North Carolina stop, according to the Daily Advance.
“God made sex, gave us sex, we are to use sex, enjoy sex,” Graham said. “But it is to be in a married relationship with a man and a woman. It is to be used in a married relationship. There are many of you here who are guilty of sexual sins but I am here to say today that God will forgive you. That’s right, He will forgive.”
Graham also spoke about what he called the “transgender business.”
“We are made male and female, that’s it. All this stuff is a lie from hell. And shame on the politicians for listening to those people,” he said.
When asked about a shooting that took place in Texas, Graham said the issue is so much deeper than gun control.
“We have a problem with the human heart. Our nation has turned its back on God. We have taken God out of the schools, we have taken the Bible out of schools. The (U.S.) Department of Education has destroyed our country. We spend millions of dollars on program after program after program and we take God out of everything. Are we better for it? No. It’s the human heart and only God can change the human heart,” he said.
Graham said the tour targeted smaller areas because “I have a heart for smaller cities. It is just as important to go to these communities as it is to preach in major cities. The Gospel has such a strong impact in these smaller places,” according to Fox News.
He said he focused on the region because “like every area of our country, there are many people who don’t know God. So many are searching and struggling. I simply want them to know that God cares for them and has a plan for their lives.”
To make the tour work, Graham had help from more than 885 churches in the region.
Angel Núñez, pastor of the Bilingual Christian Church in the Baltimore suburb of Timonium, said the tour was welcome and needed.
“Here in the Baltimore area, the hurt and pain is evident in many communities. Drugs, violence, human trafficking and hopelessness reign. Many people are broken and they have lost all hope. It is precisely at this moment in our lives that we need a touch from God and to hear of His great love for us,” Núñez said.
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