Billy Graham returns to Los Angeles
"If you don't remember a thing I said tonight, I hope you remember that God loves you," evangelist and Christianity Today founder Billy Graham told a crowd of 45,000 last night at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

About 2,500 of the attendees came forward at the invitation to respond to the message, which was classic Graham.

While Graham's ministry had one of its earliest energizing moments in Los Angeles 55 years ago, this is actually his ninth crusade in the city — and his 416th worldwide. After that many crusades (he's back to calling them "crusades," by the way), it's hard to find the news in a Graham meeting. Newspapers try hard — here's the Los Angeles Times, Pasadena Star-News, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Ventura County Star, and Press-Enterprise—but the story has always been the same: Graham's sermons are simple, relevant, and direct. Thousands respond. And lately, a key part of the story is that he's getting older.

But it's a story that's still worth hearing with every telling. God's word is proclaimed. People respond. And one of the world's greatest evangelists of all time keeps preaching, knowing that his work has eternal value.

"That's a great thing," he said last night. "To go home and know your sins have been forgiven."

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