Grace is that characteristic that sets people apart. Regardless of their age, income, gender or race, a person's graciousness can be both charming and disarming, drawing others to listen to what they have to say, do what they want them to do, and become who God wants them to become.

If you'd like to learn more about this trait of graciousness, and how to apply it more and more to your own life, I invite you to study along with me in the book of Ephesians, one of the most grace-filled books of the Bible. You'll learn how to be more loving, more kind, and see how it brings even greater joy to your own life, even as it brings joy to the lives of those around you.

It's not necessarily hard to be gracious, but it does take some thought. These lessons are meant to help you stimulate your thoughts so that you can be all that you want to be, and all that God wants you to be as well. Just click a lesson below to begin!

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Introduction: The Grace Of An American Idol: Besides his astounding voice, one other thing that stands out about Adam Lambert is his graciousness. It's a trait we would all do well to emulate, focusing our attention on others. Join me in this study of the book of Ephesians to find out how to be more grace-filled in your own life, and receive the blessings that come along with it.
Lesson 1: Grace Begins With A Thought: One of my favorite birthday presents was a bottle of water. It wasn't just for the water, though, but for the thought behind it. Grace begins with a thought, and that's where Paul began his letter to the Ephesians. It was a thought caused him to write the letter at all, a thought that is still having an impact to this day.
Lesson 2: God's Grace Is Glorious And Lavish: God's grace may seem indescribable, but it can be experienced in a fresh way through a simple prayer. Pray, as Paul did for the Ephesians, that God would open the eyes of your heart so that you may know Him better. When He answers you, you'll find that His grace is both glorious and lavish.
Lesson 3: God's Grace Is A Gift: You many not feel you deserve God's grace, but if you deserved it, it wouldn't be grace. It would simply be getting something that you've earned. Grace, however, is a gift, given in spite of what you've done wrong, and not because anything you've done right. It's a gift of God, offered freely to all who would receive it by putting their faith in Christ.
Lesson 4: God's Grace Draws You Near: The aroma of God's grace is like the aroma of fresh bread baking in the oven, filling the entire house. Jesus is the bread of life, and His fragrance entices men and women from all over the planet to come and partake of the goodness that He offers. Let God's grace draw you near today.
Lesson 5: Grace Grows Best In Winter: Some of the most gracious people I know seem to have gone through some of the toughest times in life. It seems that what Satan means to use to harm them, actually helps them grow to be more Christ-like, as long as they keep putting their faith in Him along the way.
Lesson 6: How Much Are You Worth?: How much you're worth depends on who you ask and what you're counting. People have counted Michael Jackon's worth in dollars, your body's worth in vital organs, and your chemical makeup in terms of the dust of which you're made. But the worth that really counts is the worth that God gives you...and in God's eyes, you're priceless!
Lesson 7: How Much Can You Imagine?: God says that He can do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine. Why then does it sometimes seem that He doesn't even answer our prayers at all? Is there something else going on that we may be missing? Here's what I've discovered.
Lesson 8: Extend Grace To Your Fellow Believers: God wants you to not only receive His grace, but to extend His grace to others, especially to those closest to You. But sometimes you might find you're least gracious with them. Here's a reminder to remember to be especially gracious to your fellow believers.
Lesson 9: Use Your Gifts To Serve Others: God loves to give the gift of eternal life...but He doesn't stop there! He has more gifts He loves to give out, all for the purpose of equipping and strengthening others in His body here on earth. Look for, and use these gifts, as He has given them to you.
Lesson 10: Forgive As Christ Has Forgiven You: What makes gracious people so gracious? One of the things is their incredible capacity to forgive others, not because they're naive about the depth of sin, but because they realize the power of forgiveness to transform. It's a lesson Jesus wants all of us to learn.
Lesson 11: Live A Life Of Love: God wants us to live a life of love, but many people find that they're simply living a life of lust instead. Take a look at what God says about life and love and sex in particular, in this message, and in the book, "What God Says About Sex" at the link at the end.
Lesson 12: Let Your Heart Sing: Paul told the Ephesians to "Speak to one another with songs, hymns and spiritual songs." Why would he have them speak songs to each other, and what good might it do for you if you did the same? It just might bless you and those around you in ways you didn't expect, as well as blessing the heart of God Himself.
Lesson 13: Submit To One Another: One of the hardest things to do in life is "submitting to one another." But it's also one of the most gracious things we can do. When you surrender your will to someone else's you're not only giving them the right to call the shots in a situation, you're giving them a true demonstration of your love for them.
Lesson 14: Submit To One Another - Part 2: The relationship between parents and children can be some of the most joyful or some of the most stressful in life. Paul's words to the Ephesians show how to make the most of our relationships with those closest to us, by submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ.
Lesson 15: Submit To One Another - Part 3: God wants us to submit to one another, including those we work for and those who work for us. While not many people have slaves or masters anymore, Paul's words about these working relationships can still apply to our lives today, reducing tension and bringing more joy into our life and work.
Lesson 16: Overcome Your Enemies With Grace: When a battle starts, there are a couple ways to defeat your enemies. In Ephesians, Paul tells us about some spiritual armor that God has given to each of us. While it's much softer and more gracious than physical armor, it's much stronger and more powerful. Try it out today!
Lesson 17: Grace Is "Others-Focused": Selfish people focus on themselves. Gracious people focus on others. God wants us to make a conscious choice who we're going to focus on...what we choose will affect not only ourselves, but everyone around us.
Lesson 18: How Gracious Is Gracious Enough?: How gracious does God wants us to be? Only as gracious as He's been to us! God wants us to extend grace to others in a way that helps others know His grace even better, and oftentimes that means being overly gracious in order to be gracious enough.
Conclusion: Having A Grace-Filled Heart: How can you have a more grace-filled heart? Here are five practical steps that you can apply to your life to help you do just that. Let God's Word do it's work in your life, and see what a difference it can make to you and those you love today.
Four Things God Wants Everyone To Know: What can you say to someone who's passing from this life to the next? And what can you say to those who love them? Here's what I felt God wanted me to share with those who were facing this very situation this week, things that I believe He wants everyone to know.
Passing The Test: What can you do when Jesus asks you to do something that seems impossible? Here's a true life story that might give you a few ideas.