My Favourite Three Preachers: Mike Reeves

Having appreciated Paul Blackham's Christ-centredness we are led inevitably to the Trinitarian riches of Mike Reeves.

Here's a man obsessed with Christ who simply loves his Father in the infectious joy of the Spirit. While other great minds are liable to dazzle you with technicalities and confuse you with the breadth of their knowledge, Mike uses his penetrating intellect to simplify. He really only preaches the basics: God and Christ, grace and love. Without doubt, they are profoundly set forth, but it's the foundational truths which Mike proclaims.

And what's terrifying is that, having heard the basics from Mike, we all realize "We didn't know the basics!" Not really. We had assumed God, we had neglected the Trinity, we had missed our union with Christ... and the lack of grace and love in our lives was testimony. We had thought that our foundations were fine. We were messing around in the garden shed and Mike has called us back to the Centre. Now that he's drawn us back, nothing looks the same any more. And we realize now the nature of the Christian life. It's looking again to Jesus. Every day I forget. Every day I seek life elsewhere. And through the word proclaimed, I'm called back. Mike concerns himself with the basics. And in doing so, reminds us that the basics are everything!

As a preacher Mike is the king of the "cheeky flick" - taking us to some obscure verse in Judges that ends up illuminating the whole passage. With Mike, Scripture is a vast cathedral and he's a very adept tour guide. We don't simply stare at the stained-glass window in the Lady Chapel, we get a sweep of the whole building. But when we return to the window it's all the clearer now. This is such a healthy view of what "exposition" means and has certainly liberated me from a mechanical practice of 'verse-by-verse'.

Perhaps the element of Mike's preaching most important to me is his obsession with the freeness of Jesus - given to sinners. Given to me - even in all my wretchedness. This is what's so liberating about his preaching. He is wonderfully trinitarian and has a thoroughly affective anthropology - seeing the centrality of the heart to our Christian lives. But without our sure possession of Jesus by faith, these things would only end up condemning me. What secures the Father's love for me is my sure possession of Christ by faith - and Christ's of me. Our gracious union with Jesus is central to our enjoyment of all things in the Christian life. And Mike preaches this to us relentlessly. For that I am very grateful.

Recent Sermons:

Philippians from CEC Leeds

Classic Sermons:

Trinity part 1, 2, 3, 4

The Loving Father

The Beautiful Son

The Heart-Melting Spirit

Mission from John's Gospel