The Department of War hosted the Pentagon’s first “Christmas Worship Service” on Wednesday, with both military and civilians gathering in the center courtyard to sing songs of praise to God and hear a presentation of the Gospel message from evangelist Franklin Graham.
The historic event came after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth began conducting monthly Christian prayer services in May of this year—one of which was hosted by Edward Graham.
“I want to thank you all for sharing in this first Christmas Worship Service here at the Pentagon,” Hegseth told the hundreds of attendees. “It’s the least we could do in this season. We do it monthly as well — a prayer service — which we will continue to do, because, as George Washington did that first year, he went on bended knee for providence in impossible tasks.”
“You each day are asked to do impossible things, work impossible hours, at impossible odds, which mere men and women could not do,” he continued. “And that’s why we bend the knee, because we know where our strength comes from, and we need that wisdom and that guidance, that providential guide in our own lives as we try to act on behalf of our nation.”
Franklin Graham, who serves as the President of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and Samaritan’s Purse, described the honor of being asked to deliver a message at the worship service, noting that the event further showcases the Defense Secretary and the President’s support for faith.
Graham’s Message: God’s Righteous Judgment
During the service, Graham spoke before the crowd with an unconventional and hard-hitting Christmas message, one which not only highlighted the loving nature of God, but also His righteous character in enacting justice.
“We think about [the fact that] God is a God of love, and we know that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but should have everlasting life (John 3:16),” Graham remarked. “We know that God loves, but did you know that God also hates? Do you know that God also is a God of war? Many people don’t want to think about that or forget that.”
The evangelist led attendees into the Old Testament, highlighting an ambush by the Amalekites against Israel that escalated into an intense battle. While God gave victory to the children of Israel, defeating the Amalekites, He did not forget their sin. 400 years later, God would instruct King Saul to carry out His justice on the Amalekites for their attack, by utterly destroying the people and livestock—a command that was only partially carried out by the king.
“Remember, this was a 400-year-old debt,” he stressed. “God waited 400 years to collect, to destroy the Analikites for what they did. 400 years He waited. God remembers.”
“This is a biblical principle you need to understand,” Graham underscored. “The Bible says we’ve all sinned and come short of God’s glory. All of us are sinners just like the Amalekites. And God is going to destroy sinners. He is going to destroy sin. But this is what Christmas is all about.”
“God sent His Son,” he continued. “Jesus said, ‘I’m the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the father but by me.’ There are not many roads to God, many paths. There’s only one path, only one road, and that goes through the Lord Jesus Christ. Why? Because the Lord Jesus Christ took the sins of the world. And He died and shed His blood on a cross for everyone’s sin—your sin, my sin. And if we’re willing to accept that by faith and simply believe, God will forgive us, cleanse us, and heal us. But we have to accept it by faith.”
God’s righteous judgment not only applies to individuals, but as the example of the Amalekites underscores, it also applies to nations.
“I think of the sins of our country, and I pray that God will forgive the sins of our country,” Graham stated. “When you think of all the things that we do and the mistakes that we make, pray that God will heal our land and that America once again will turn to the God of our fathers and serve Him.”
Turning to the story of Christmas, Graham pointed to the moment when Joseph was told that Mary was pregnant with Christ. The evangelist read from Matthew chapter one, “But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.’”
“He came to save us,” Graham reiterated. “That was His purpose for going to the cross. Because when He was nailed to the cross, God poured on Him, His Son, all the sins of mankind—all sins past, all sins present, all sins future. Jesus Christ hung on that cross, and He took the sins of the world, and He became so dirty and so ugly at that moment that God had to turn His back for a brief moment. He turned His back on His Son. But Jesus took our shame, and He died in our place, and He rose again.”
“This is why we celebrate Christmas,” he emphasized. “It’s not Jesus Christ as a babe in a manger. He’s living. He’s alive. He’s in heaven. He is coming back—and he’s coming back someday soon.”
Graham went on to encourage military Chaplains, reminding them that the most important thing is “staying focused on the word of God.”
“That’s what chaplains — and of course I’m speaking from a Christian view — need to be focused on: the word of God,” he urged. “People want to know what God has to say, not what man has to say, not what philosophy is. They want to know what God has to say.”
