Explore Prayer About

Open menu

Explore Prayer About

Loading note…

Walk through Scripture. Grow in faith. Together.

Explore Prayer About For Churches Privacy Terms

The Absolutely Necessary: Thanksgiving Edition | E. Dewey Smith | Podcast Notes — Hello Pastor

Sermon Notes

The Absolutely Necessary: Thanksgiving Edition

The House of Hope Atlanta • Nov 26, 2025 • 22 min

Start a Devotional

Take this message with you through a journey of Scripture, reflection, and prayer.

Summary

In this Thanksgiving teaching, Pastor E. Dewey Smith highlights how believers can cultivate true peace and gratitude even during seasons of hardship, grief, and loss. Scripture instructs us to give thanks in all circumstances rather than for every painful event, shifting our focus to what God has preserved and prevented. By guarding our minds through intentional reflection and structuring our prayer life through Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, we experience the peace of God standing guard over our hearts.

Themes

GratitudePeacePrayerEmotional HealthServing Others

Pastor's Points

1.

Adoration - Adore and worship God before jumping into asking Him for things.

2.

Confession - Confess your faults, sins, and absolute need for God.

3.

Thanksgiving - Express gratitude for what God has done, provided, and prevented.

4.

Supplication - Present your specific needs, requests, and direction to God.

Key Points

1.
Adoration is the essential opening of prayer where believers adore, honor, and worship God before presenting personal requests.
2.
Confession in prayer requires admitting our daily faults, wrongdoings, and total dependence on God.
3.
Thanksgiving anchors our prayer life in gratitude for what God has provided, protected, and prevented.
4.
Supplication belongs at the end of prayer, allowing us to bring specific personal requests to God after aligning our hearts through worship.
5.
Biblical peace is not the absence of external trouble, but inner serenity and calm in the midst of difficulty.
6.
God's peace acts as a military guard standing watch over our hearts and minds to prevent chaos from dragging us backward.
7.
Scripture commands believers to give thanks in all circumstances rather than for every painful loss or circumstance.
8.

Sermon Moments

“Peace is never the absence of trouble. Really, a biblical understanding of peace is having tranquility and serenity even in the midst of it.”

“That word guard there is a military regimen. It means to stand as a military guard to stand in front of your heart and your mind.”

“If you do the thinking, God is going to do the keeping.”

“The Bible never says for everything give thanks, but rather in everything, which means no matter what state you're in, you and I can learn to be content.”

“Instead of looking at what you lost, look at what you have left. Instead of looking at the thing that you're lacking, look at the things that are existing.”

“Sometimes you can be thankful not for what God provides, but maybe what God prevents.”

“If you take times to think, then you can thank.”

“If you will be good to God, then God will be good to you.”

This Week

Practice the ACTS prayer model daily by opening your prayers with Adoration and Confession before moving to Thanksgiving and Supplication.

Take time to intentionally reflect on what God has protected you from or prevented in your life, giving Him thanks for His unseen guard.

Shift your perspective during difficult times by focusing on what God has preserved rather than dwelling on what was lost.

Reach out and serve someone who is experiencing grief or distress during this season to share God's comfort and bring joy to others.

Guard your emotional health by meditating on Philippians 4:8 whenever negative or anxious thoughts threaten your peace.

Rely on God's peace as a military guard over your heart and mind when family stress or hectic holiday schedules create chaos.

Express gratitude for God's character and past deliverance each morning to set a positive emotional trajectory for your day.

Remember This

True biblical peace and thanksgiving come when we intentionally reflect on God's faithfulness, focus on what He has preserved, and guard our hearts through worship.

A Challenge for You

If you take times to think, then you can thank. Think about God's provision. Think about God's protection. Think about the things and people God kept you from. Maintain your peace.

These are personal sermon notes shared to help you remember the message — not a replacement for Scripture, your church, or your pastors.

4 passages. Tap one to see how it was used, hear it, or read it.

The Absolutely Necessary: Thanksgiving Edition

Continue this series

Absolutely Necessary

Bible study

Inner Reflection: Thy Word Have I Hid in My Heart

Dr. E. Dewey Smith Jr · The House of Hope Atlanta

Sep 16, 2026

Bible study

Absolutely Necessary Bible Study

Dr. E. Dewey Smith Jr · The House of Hope Atlanta

Sep 9, 2026

Bible study

Modern Day Evangelism

Smith · The House of Hope Atlanta

Jun 3, 2026

Part 2 · Current

The Absolutely Necessary: Thanksgiving Edition

E. Dewey Smith · The House of Hope Atlanta

Nov 26, 2025

Podcast

Absolutely Necessary

Dr. E. Dewey Smith Jr · The House of Hope Atlanta

Oct 22, 2025

Podcast

Are We Glorifying Violence in the Name of God?

Dr. E. Dewey Smith Jr · The House of Hope Atlanta

Sep 17, 2025

Cultivating genuine gratitude begins with taking time to intentionally reflect on God's past protection, provision, and deliverance.

9.

Serving others during times of personal grief or loss helps relieve sorrow and restores joy to our own lives.

Messages for what you're walking through

Related teaching for similar life moments

Sermon

Why Be True to Yourself Is Crushing You

Philip Miller · The Moody Church

Oct 21, 2026

Sermon

A Life of Faith

Stephanie Ike Okafor · ONE, A Potter's House Church

Oct 20, 2026

Podcast

Don't Miss It

Jared and DJ · One Life Church

Oct 20, 2026

Sermon

Whatever You Worship Is Shaping Who You Become

Philip Miller · The Moody Church

Oct 20, 2026

Explore more Sermon Notes

Browse all sermon notes