What Does Worship Smell Like?: John 12:1-11

This message looks at the extravagant gift given by Mary to Jesus and contrasts her act of worship to other responses in the crowd. Simply stated, when we worship God we produce a sacrifice of some sort that leaves a smell in His nostrils. Does our worship smell like Mary’s extravagant gift, or does it smell bad to God? There are three kinds of worship contrasted in this sermon: 1) Extravagant Worship, 2) Egocentric Worship, and 3) Observation. Observation simply comes to God to see what might happen. This kind of worship is more interested in the “event” or “special effects” than in actually participating in service to or worship of God. It smells a lot like burnt eggs. Egocentric worship may look pious or holy on the surface, but it is primarily interested in selfish gain. Egocentric worship asks, “What’s in it for me?” and smells a bit like old sweat socks. Extravagant worship is precious and costly, it is motivated by love and is intimate, it is humble yet obvious to others, it permeates everything, and it pleases Jesus. Looking at these three approaches should cause us to ask: “What does my worship smell like?”