True Worship

I’ll never forget a conversation I had a few years ago at my buddy Ryan’s ordination service. It was one of those special days—pastors gathering to pray, encourage, and celebrate what God was doing. After the service, I was catching up with one of the pastors when he asked how things were going at our church. I couldn’t help but light up.

"Things are going great," I said. "We’ve got a new worship leader, a worship team—and they’ve added so much to our services!" I probably went on bragging a bit too long, if I’m being honest.

That’s when he smiled at me and said something I’ll never forget:
“Michael, that’s wonderful—but if I could lovingly offer a thought—he’s not technically a worship leader. He’s a song leader. He’s leading songs that can lead to worship, but worship itself is something much bigger."

At first, I just laughed it off.
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized—he was right.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve started equating worship with singing. But true worship? It’s so much bigger than fifteen minutes of music before a sermon. Worship isn't just a song. It’s a life. It’s what we treasure most. It’s what we surrender for. It’s what shapes our decisions, our priorities, and our every breath.

Worship is about the heart.

And in Mark 14, we find one of the clearest pictures of what real worship looks like.

It was just days before the cross. Jesus was in Bethany, reclining at the home of Simon the leper, when a woman walked in carrying something precious: an alabaster box filled with costly ointment of spikenard.

Without a word, she broke the box and poured it all over His head.

"And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head." (Mark 14:3)

It was unexpected. It was extravagant. It was beautiful.
And it was worship.

Worship is giving what we value most to the One we believe is most worthy. Our English word worship actually comes from two Old English words: worth and ship—meaning to recognize someone’s supreme value. That’s exactly what Mary did that day. She recognized the surpassing worth of Jesus, and she responded with wholehearted, no-turning-back devotion.

And there’s a lot we can learn from her.

Worship, real worship, always costs something.

Mary didn’t bring leftovers. She didn’t offer something convenient. She gave Jesus her best—her most precious possession. Scholars believe her alabaster jar of spikenard could have been a family heirloom, passed down through generations.

Mark records that the ointment was valued at "more than three hundred pence"—nearly a year’s wages.

"For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor." (Mark 14:5)

Imagine bringing a full year’s salary worth of perfume to church—and then pouring it out completely for Jesus. No saving a little. No holding anything back. Mary broke the jar, meaning it could never be used again.
That’s worship.

True worship says:
"You are worth more than anything I own, anything I dream of, anything I could ever hold onto."

It’s full surrender. It’s saying, "All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give."
It forces us to ask the question: What’s in your jar?
What are you still clinging to? A dream? A habit? A relationship? A future plan?
Real worship means breaking the jar and giving it all to Him—because He’s worth it.

When Mary poured out her heart to Jesus, the room didn’t erupt in applause. It erupted in murmuring.

"And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?" (Mark 14:4)

And listen—when you’re truly all in for Jesus, you will be misunderstood too. People will think you're extreme. They’ll say you’re doing too much. They won’t get it.
But that’s okay—because our worship isn’t for the world’s approval. It’s for an Audience of One.

When the world criticized Mary, Jesus defended her:

"And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me." (Mark 14:6)

When you pour out your life for Jesus, you don't have to defend yourself. He sees it. He honors it. And in His eyes, it’s never wasted.

Mary’s act wasn’t random. It was biblical.

Perfume like that was often used to prepare bodies for burial—and that's exactly what Jesus pointed out:

"She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying." (Mark 14:8)

Her broken jar pointed to His broken body.
True worship always points back to the cross.

We worship because He first loved us.
We surrender because He first surrendered.
We break our jars because He broke His body.
When we remember the cross, worship isn’t hard—it’s inevitable.

Jesus ended the conversation with a powerful promise:

"Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." (Mark 14:9)

Two thousand years later, we’re still telling Mary’s story.
Not because she sought fame, but because she sought Him.

True worship leaves a legacy—not because people are impressed with us, but because people are pointed to Jesus.

What’s in your jar?
Are you holding anything back?
Keeping something sealed, off-limits?
Or are you ready to break it open — to pour it all out for the One who poured it all out for you?

Because I'm here to tell you: He’s worth it.
He’s worthy of all your worship.
He’s worthy of your heart, your life, your everything.
Let’s be people who don’t just sing worship.

Let’s live it.
Let’s break the jar and give it all to Jesus.

Because that, my friends, is true worship.