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Jesus and Mary: What comes into your mind when you think of worship? Going to church? Singing worship music? In the story of Jesus and Mary of Bethany, Mary gives a beautiful picture of what true and proper worship is. When Mary anoints Jesus, it's a picture of extravagant honor with an audience of one. Recorded on Dec 31, 2023, on John 11:45 - 12:11 by Pastor David Parks.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFinding Life in Jesus\u2019 Name\xa0is a sermon series on the gospel according to John in the Bible. Have you ever felt\xa0unsatisfied\xa0with your life? Or, even when things were going well, something was still\xa0missing? Many people sense there must be something more. But what?? John, one of the closest friends of Jesus, believed that Jesus came into the world so that we may have life and have it to the\xa0full. Jesus turned John\u2019s life upside down, and John claims this new life \u2014 marked by God\u2019s power, presence, and purpose \u2014 is available for all who believe.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSermon Transcript\n\n\n\n\xa0Well, today, we\u2019re back from a little Christmas break last week to continue working through The Gospel According to John in a series called Finding Life in Jesus\u2019 Name. We\u2019ll be working from John chapter 11 into chapter 12, considering a beautiful picture of true and proper worship in the story of Jesus and Mary of Bethany. As we begin, let me ask you a question. What comes into your mind when you think of worship? When I was a kid, I think if you asked me that question, I would\u2019ve thought of going to church. And this makes some sense as we call this a worship service. But is worship limited to Sunday morning or whenever there\u2019s a worship service? I think when many people think of worship, they think of worship music. And certainly, Biblical worship includes singing songs of praise to God. The book of Psalms in the Bible is a hymnal, a whole songbook used by God\u2019s people for thousands of years in worship. But worship isn\u2019t limited to music any more than it\u2019s limited to a particular place/time. So, what is worship? Well, the answer is so clearly seen in our story today when Mary responds to Jesus with extravagant honor. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to John 11:45. We\u2019ll read through it and unpack it as we go.\n\n\n\nJohn 11:45\u201354 (NIV), \u201c45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin. \u201cWhat are we accomplishing?\u201d they asked. \u201cHere is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.\u201d 49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, \u201cYou know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.\u201d 51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples.\u201d Ok, let\u2019s pause here. If you\u2019ve been with us for the past few months, we\u2019ve seen a similar reaction throughout this middle section of John\u2019s gospel. People are divided over who Jesus is. Some respond in faith, as it says in v. 45, \u201cmany of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.\u201d At the same time, others oppose him, including those in positions of power like Caiaphas, the chief priest. Now, it\u2019s interesting that Caiaphas made this prophecy about Jesus: That Jesus would die for the Jewish nation and also for the...