Franklin Graham Points the Way in the Gulf Coast
Evangelist Franklin Graham marked the second night of his three-day evangelistic festival in Mobile, Ala., Saturday with an invitation to people from all religious backgrounds.
Evangelist Franklin Graham marked the second night of his three-day evangelistic festival in Mobile, Ala., Saturday with an invitation to people from all religious backgrounds.
"Jesus Christ died for the Muslims, he died for the Hindus, he died for the Buddhists, he died for every person on the face of this earth," Graham said to the crowd of more than 4,100 in the Mobile Civic Center, “and the only way that anyone on the face of this earth can come before a holy God is through Jesus Christ because he's the only one to take the sins of this world.”
"All of us are guilty of sin – every human being – and only one has paid the debt of sin for you, and that's Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone,” he exhorted, according to the Mobile Press-Register. “There is no other way to heaven."
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Graham’s “Gulf Coast Festival,” which was in the making even before the Gulf Coast was battered by hurricane Katrina last year, comes one month after he and his father hit New Orleans with a message of hope at the Franklin and Billy Graham Celebration of Hope. More than 300 churches in the local areas have partnered with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, which the younger Graham now leads, to present the festival at the Mobile Civic Center. Just as the 215 church pastors in and around New Orleans anticipated a time of hope and revival for the tens of thousands affected by the storm destruction, church leaders in Mobile hope the weekend event will bring encouragement to the people.
The festival kicked off Friday with performances from musical guests Andréa Crouch, CeCe Winans, and Alicia Williamson Garcia, and a message from Graham, who took time to discuss “serious business.”
"This is serious business," he told the crowd of 4,462 gathered Friday, according to the Register. "This is heaven or hell.”
"Because you see, there's no way that you can stand before a holy God unless you come through Christ. Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.' Will you come to him tonight?"
The next evening, Graham continued his call, reminding the crowds: "You're not coming to Franklin Graham, you're coming tonight to God, through faith in his son, Jesus Christ, asking him to touch your life, to heal your life, to forgive you of your sins and to set you free from that guilt and shame so you can leave this arena tonight forgiven, cleansed, a new person, a new life, a new beginning."
Graham will conclude the three-day festival Sunday evening with a third message and another call for attendants to make their decisions for Christ.
