Expository Studying: A Practical Guide To Preparing Expository Sermons

Joel James argues that preaching is a divine task that requires a craftsman-like approach to the Bible. He contends that many modern preachers fail because they substitute their own ideas—what he calls 'straw'—for the 'grain' of God's word. True expository preaching is defined as resaying exactly what God said in the text. The author emphasizes that because God is both the Creator and the ultimate Communicator, the Bible is inherently understandable. Therefore, the preacher's primary responsibility is to discover the single, intended meaning of a passage through diligent, objective study rather than relying on personal imagination or unstudied 'spiritual' guesses.

To ensure accuracy, James outlines twelve hermeneutical principles. These include the clarity of Scripture, the importance of historical and grammatical context, and the necessity of distinguishing between interpretation (what the text meant to the original audience) and application (how that meaning applies today). He warns against the allegorical method, which he views as an uncontrolled exercise of human imagination, and the 'Holy Spirit method,' where preachers neglect study under the guise of divine inspiration. Instead, he advocates for a 'normal' reading of the text, where the interpreter respects the rules of language, syntax, and the historical setting of the biblical authors.

To bridge the gap between study and sermon, James introduces 'block diagramming.' This technique involves visually arranging the words and clauses of a passage on a page to reveal the author's logical flow. By 'stripping' a sentence of its secondary modifiers—such as prepositional phrases and developing clauses—the preacher can isolate the 'dominant thought' of the main clause. This process forces the preacher to engage with the text's structure, ensuring that the resulting sermon is built upon the author's actual argument rather than the preacher's own disconnected ideas. The author provides practical exercises to help students master the identification of clauses and the stripping of sentences, emphasizing that this technical work is essential for anyone who wishes to be a faithful voice for God.