Olive Tree Bible for Mac with MASSIVE Update 3 Years in the Making
Olive Tree update their Bible. study app to make it look and work more like the iOS and iPadOS app. It now only has a few minor differences.
According to the Mac App Store page, the Olive Tree Bible app on the Mac desktop has received a "MASSIVE update three years in the making."
The jump to version 7.16 brings the iOS mobile app and the Mac app together with a similar look and feel. The app on Mac and iOS always looked similar. However, Olive Tree updated the Mac version to behave like what you'd see on an iPad. Here's what's new.
Audiobook Access on Olive Tree Mac Desktop
Your library provides access to audiobooks and other audio features. Open the Library from the button in the toolbar. Click on Add Filter and choose Audio. Your audiobooks will appear there. Open one and start listening. The controls let you jump to parts of the book.
The above steps also work on your iPad and iPhone. If you want, you can click the minimize button in the audio player and the player will show in your sidebar.
Access Video from the Resource Guide
When you open your Resource Guide, you may find video content. Scroll down till you see the Videos section of the guide. Click to open a video and it will play in the guide. You can also pop the video out using the button int he upper right corner of the player.
When you pop open the video player, you can jump to YouTube if the video comes from YouTube. Additionally, you can maximize a video. If you're playing it for your small group, you can see the full-screen video.
Other Changes in Olive Tree
The Message Center, which should probably be called the ad section, also appears now. It's in the left sidebar. The app also offers an improved Store and Shopping experience.
The Quick Details section from the lower left corner looks and acts just like the mobile app.
The Resource Guide gets some speed improvements. Everything will scroll faster, especially if you have a slightly older Mac.
The My Stuff section shows up in the left Side Bar towards the top, as seen above.
PocketBible for iOS and Mac Adds ChatGPT to Autostudy
There's a new version of Laridian's PocketBible for iOS, iPadOS and Mac that fixes some bugs, adds new features like an improved Reading Mode, and more importantly integration of ChatGPT AI Insights.
Laridian announced that they added ChatGPT to their Autostudy feature. This feature is available to subscribers of the company's Advanced Feature Set, which gives users more features than the free Bible study tool.
PocketBible for iOS is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad and runs on Macs. The new version is 4.18. Find the full list of updates using the previous link.
How to Use Autostudy in PocketBible
The app's Autostudy feature helps users study their Bible with a simple report on a word or verse that the user selects. It's similar to the Guides in Logos, the Resource Guide found in Olive Tree.
To use Autostudy, hold down on a verse or double-tap a word. A toolbar with an icon that looks like a graduate's cap will pop up. Tap that to see the Autostudy window. Then tap on Show Results to see your Autostudy report.
The row at the top shows the content of your Autostudy. Swipe to see the rest of the row. Tap a category to jump to that category in the Autostudy list.
Autostudy includes the verse or passage report, which shows the following...
- Text from each of your Bibles (shown above).
- Strong's numbers.
- Dictionary definition of every word in the passage.
- Greek or Hebrew word definitions.
- Commentary entries from all the commentaries you own.
- Cross-references from Treasure of Scripture Knowledge or other cross-reference titles you own.
- Your user-created notes.
Autostudy for each word includes ...
- Definition from your selected dictionaries.
- Number of times that word is found in your Bible.
- Strong's number info if you own a Strong's tagged tool.
A new feature in the recent update offers Autostudy Devotions features, which include...
- Reading for today.
- Text of Bible passages referred to in your devotional.
Laridian includes a couple of nice features in PocketBible's Autostudy. Users can customize the report's look, which you see under Customize CSS when you run a report. They can also customize the order of content from within an Autostudy report.
ChatGPT Integration in Autostudy
Adding ChatGPT to Autostudy adds a lot of content to the app that a smaller company like Laridian could never add alone. In fact, big companies would likely struggle to add such far-reaching content.
From Laridian's Craig Rairdin...
We’ve spent a lot of time over the last year and a half designing prompts and instructions that cause it to give responses that are Bible-based and Bible-first. It avoids dogma and denominational bias and favors what it clearly reads in the Bible. It uses biblical terminology where political correctness would prefer non-biblical alternative language.
To use Autostudy, users must first subscribe to the Advanced Feature Set and turn on the AI feature in the settings. To do so, they tap and hold on a verse and then tap on the Autostudy button in the toolbar that appears.
In the Autostudy's first window, find Content and Order near the top. Tap it to open it. Ensure there's a checkmark in the AI Insights item at the bottom of the list (#1 above). You can also turn off other items by removing the checkmark. Hit Order (#2 above) in the upper right corner to change the order of the items in Autostudy.
Now, when you tap the Show Results item on Autostudy's first screen, it will find all the content it can from your library and ChatGPT. This takes longer than a regular report that doesn't use AI.
Example of AI Insights Results for Commentary
To give you an example of the results of AI Insights in PocketBible, I ran an Autostudy on John 3:3. Here's what the AI Commentary offered.
The Gospel of John, traditionally attributed to the Apostle John, is unique among the four Gospels in its theological depth and focus on the identity of Jesus as the Son of God. Written in the latter part of the first century, likely in Ephesus, it aims to strengthen the faith of believers and present a clear understanding of who Jesus is. John’s Gospel addresses a broad audience, including both Jewish and Gentile readers, and highlights the necessity of spiritual rebirth, a theme central to John 3:3.
In this verse, a conversation takes place between Jesus and Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council. This dialogue occurs at night, indicating Nicodemus’s cautious interest in Jesus and the disruptive nature of Jesus's teachings to the established religious order. The phrase “born again” introduces a pivotal theological concept that reflects on the necessity of spiritual transformation.
The context surrounding this verse encompasses the introduction of Jesus's public ministry and the manifestations of His divine authority, characterized by miraculous signs. John 3:1-21 emphasizes the contrast between human understanding based on earthly standards and the spiritual insights required to comprehend the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus, representing the religious elite, approaches Jesus, seeking clarification about His teachings and miracles, which sets the stage for Jesus's profound statement regarding the need for rebirth.
The phrase “unless one is born again” underscores the necessity of a radical inner transformation that is not achievable through human efforts or religious observance alone. This rebirth is explicitly spiritual, highlighting that entry into God's Kingdom requires a renewal of the heart and mind, an action attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit as described later in John 3:5-7.
The practical application of this teaching is substantial. It emphasizes the fundamental Christian belief in the necessity of conversion and the transformative power of God’s grace. For modern readers, it serves as a reminder that spiritual renewal is not merely a one-time event but an ongoing process of growth and reliance on God's spirit. It invites believers to examine their own spiritual lives, acknowledging that true faith encompasses a personal relationship with Christ and a transformation reflected in their thoughts, actions, and purposes.
The passage, therefore, teaches that understanding spiritual truths and entering into a relationship with God begins with an acknowledgment of one’s need for renewal, making it clear that human wisdom alone is insufficient for salvation. It aligns with the broader biblical narrative that presents salvation as a gift from God, to be received by faith and resulting in a changed life (Ephesians 2:8-10).
That's not bad! I wouldn't replace a solid, reliable commentary, but it's a nice supplement.
Other AI Insights that you get from PocketBible include...
- Bible Dictionary - a summary of info about the word or phrase studied.
- Inspirational Thoughts - a reflection for that day's Bible reading or other Bible passages.
- Applying Today's Verses - practical application for the day's Bible reading.
- Today In Christian History - info from church history.
Other New Features in PocketBible Update
Laridian added a new Reading Mode, removing distractions from the text so the reader can read their Bible. This mode removes the toolbars, toolbox, and other window stuff around the text. You open Reading Mode by tapping the button on the Toolbar with two arrows (second from the right).
If you wish to remove verse numbers, go to the app settings (the menu button is on the right of the toolbar) and choose Settings under the PROGRAM section. Tap on Hide Verse Numbers in the first section.
Finally, as with most apps or software, this update includes many bug fixes or minor feature changes.
How to Get PocketBible for iOS and Mac and Advanced Feature Set
You can download PocketBible for iOS or iPadOS in the Apple App Store on your iPhone or iPad. For Mac, get the app from Laridian's website. Both apps are free. The Advanced Feature Set costs $.99/month or $99/year through an in-app purchase or on the company's website.
Logos Subscriptions Bad or Good for Your Bible Study?
Should you upgrade to the one of the new Logos subscriptions or stay put? We'll show what they offer and how to save money.
When Logos released the new Logos Subscriptions version of the Logos Bible Study Platform, it dropped the numbering nomenclature and added a subscription model. These moves upset some users and confused others, so we want to help alleviate the confusion. We can explain the name quickly, but the new Logos subscriptions model will take up more space here on KevinPurcell.org.
The most significant new features in the Logos Subscription options include AI tools, a redesigned user interface, Bible Study Builder, and a vastly improved Sermon Assistant with AI Outlines, Questions, and Sermon Illustrations.
What's the New Logos Called?
Just Logos! Previous versions all came with the number of that update - Logos 9 went to Logos 10. However, Logos 10 was something like Logos 10.11.34. Then they released Logos 10.12 or something like that. So, now they're getting rid of the first two digits that we expected to be Logos 11. Instead, they want to release more minor updates, which they call versions.
The company named the new subscription-based version of the program Logos Version 37. That's because the last version of Logos 10 came with version 36. Sometime soon, they will give us Logos 38 and so on. For a while, I'll call it the New Logos Version 37.
Get One Extra Month Free
Whether you're an owner of Logos 10 or trying it out for the first time, you can use this link add 30 days free. That means you'll get either 30 or 60 days for free..
Three Options for Logos Subscriptions
You can subscribe to one of three options for the new Logos Subscriptions (affiliate link). They focus on three groups of users as follows:
- Bible Study Leaders: Logos Premium starts at $9.99/month and will help people who lead Bible studies.
- Pastors: Logos Pro starts at $14.99/month and adds tools intended to help pastors dive deeper into the Bible and write sermons. You can start using Logos for slightly more advanced language study at this level.
- Academic Users: Logos Premium starts at $19.99/month and takes users to the level of a scholar studying the Bible in advanced ways for scholarly research, translation, and writing academic research projects for school.
Each of the above subscription levels comes in annual subscriptions, too. You can get Premium for $99.99/year. Pro costs $149.99/year, and Max costs $199.99/year. If you pay for two years, you'll get a 21% discount off the second year, so the three cost $189.900, $284.80, or $379.80.
If you already own Logos 10, you can save on a subscription. Check out the chart above to see your savings. Also, using my Logos Affiliate link will give you an extra 30 days in your free trial offer.
Subscribers get more tools per tier the more you pay. For example, the cheapest plan doesn't include the Counseling Guide or Lexham Counseling Ontology Dataset. Pro and Premium subscribers will also not get many of Max's language tools. And each tier bumps up the number of included books you get. Premium users won't get the High-Definition Commentaries that Lexham Press produced, nor will they enjoy the Holman Old and New Testament Commentaries.
Which of the Logos Subscriptions Should You Choose?
Most people should take a look at Logos Pro. That level gives you the best bang for your buck with Logos subscriptions. Otherwise, go with the tier Logos recommends for each level of the Logos subscriptions. Lay people who teach the Bible could go with Premium. Pastors could get Pro, and academics could subscribe to Max. However, some laypeople may want more books and language tools. They should jump up to Pro. Some pastors might now use language tools as much and don't need the Pro features and tools.
You could also approach your decision based on money. Buy the most you can afford. Try to save by going with an annual or a 2-year subscription.
2025 Logos Collections for Subscribers Only
First, remember that you have to subscribe to buy one of these new 2025 Logos Collections.
While the subscriptions include many new books, Logos also adds new 2025 Libraries. Their offerings look too complicated. I wish they'd simplify things, but people love the dizzying array of options. Let's try to understand the possibilities.
Think of the collection colors as levels. They offer Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. You can start lower with the Starter Library or higher with the Collector's Edition Library.
To see the new libraries and what they offer, look at the slideshow below.
They label the collections with the year and level for 2025. We assume that we'll also get 2026 and 2027 libraries.
Add to the year and color a user description. Logos offers a 2025 Starter Library, which costs the least and comes with less than any other collection. If you're a Leader (the target of the least expensive Logos Premium Subscription), then consider the Leader Starter Library, which has a different set of tools at the introductory price than that basic Starter Library.
Logos offers libraries not just for Starter and Leader categories but also for Preachers and Researchers. You can combine them for options like the 2025 Preacher Silver Library or the Leader Gold Library. If you have a lot of money, you could purchase the 2025 Researcher Portfolio Library for $3,324.99 or the 2025 Collector's Edition Library for a whopping $7,699.99.
Don't forget dynamic pricing for 2025 libraries. The above prices mainly target new buyers. However, if you already own Logos and a library of books, you can save money. Make sure to sign in to Logos.com and then check prices.
Logos Ownership Explained
If you choose to subscribe to Logos, then do you own Logos? The answer depends on when you first purchased or subscribed to Logos. First, if you owned Logos before the subscription update, then you will own what you owned before. However, you won't receive any new features that come with this Logos version 37 or higher.
Subscribers will earn the right to own the new features of their subscription after 24 months of subscribing. If you subscribed to Logos Pro today and then chose to stop subscribing in November 2026, you'd keep all the new features that came with the subscription. Logos calls this the "Legacy Fallback License." This only applies to features that don't rely on the cloud or any new Logos AI features. You have to have owned a Logos base package to receive this Logos Fallback License.
Should You Subscribe to the New Version of Logos?
That's a terribly complicated question without an easy answer. Here are some people I think will enjoy subscribing to Logos. Take a look at the screenshots in the gallery below.
- You love having the latest and greatest version of Logos and are willing to pay $7-$20 monthly or $70-$200 annually for the new features and books.
- You want the new features (see screenshots above) available only to subscribers, like...
- Dark mode without restarting Logos.
- Getting started wizard to new users.
- Smart search.
- Insights.
- Help Center improvements.
- Factbook improvements.
- Summarize tool.
- Bible Study Builder.
- Sermon Assistant with AI Outlines, questions, illustrations, and application.
- Sermon Builder/Manager on Android and iOS
- You want a 5% discount on everything you buy and enjoy free books and courses and a 5% rebate on everything you buy in a year.
Don't subscribe if you can't afford a monthly or annual fee and/or don't think the new features will benefit your Bible study. Some people hate subscriptions, so don't upgrade if that describes you.
I received a free upgrade but planned to pay for it before I knew Logos would give me a free subscription to write an article for them at ChurchTechToday.com.
The New Logos Subscription Model and How to Save Money
What's with all these new Logos subscription tiers and libraries. We'll explain what's going on and what you should get. We've also got a deal for 2 months free.
Logos released a new version of Logos Bible Study on October 21. It includes some interesting new features and a new user interface; however, they also introduced a new subscription model. So, what's new in the new Logos, and should you subscribe to one of the three new tiers of Logos version 37?
What Do You Call the New Logos?
For over 20 years, I've used Logos 3, 4, or some other version that ended in a small number. When Logos 10 came out, that became the last version that we'd described that way. What we called Logos 10 was called something like Logos 10.24.01. They just dropped the final numbers and called it Logos 10. We're dropping the 10 and getting Logos 37 as the first version of the new Logos (my Partner Link gets you 2 free months), which we thought they'd call Logos 11.
Logos Changed the Way You Buy the Logos Bible Study Platform
In the past, most people upgraded to Logos XX by paying for new features plus a library of new books. Now, you pay for a monthly, annual, or two-year subscription and add a library of books in a separate purchase.
Think of it like this. You decide to lease a home to own. YOu're paying monthly for the right to live there and over time you build up enough equity that you can buy it and own it outright. However, you decided you also want to make some improvements, so you add on a new bedroom and bathroom. You turn on of the rooms into a home theater and you build a nice gazebo out back.
Logos asks you to subscribe to get the new version and then asks you to add-on. You pay monthly for the new version of Logos like you pay monthly for the house. You add onto the house and make improvements like you buy a 2025 Library for the new Logos 37. If you quit paying for the home, the bank will kick you out. If you quit paying for the new Logos, then you lose the new features, unless you subscribe for a minium time. I'll explain that below when we discuss the "Legacy Fallback License".
To get new features, you will have to subscribe. Logos told me:
We will no longer sell a perpetual license to feature sets to consumers. For software, subscription will be the only way to get a premium Logos experience.
The subscription doesn't give you libraries of books. You will get the tools needed to use the new features. These will mostly come from Logos and not other publishers like Zondervan, Holman, or Baker, to name a few.
Three Tiers of Subscriptions
Logos reduced the number of different groups of features from nine to only three. They are as follows:
- Logos Premium - Focused on lay leaders who teach a small group in their church or community. The tools sit at the intermediate level of skill or knowledge and focus on English language study. Think of the old Bronze level of feature sets.
- Logos Pro - Focused on pastors and preachers who pastor a church or often preach and teach the Bible. They need advanced-level tools and will get access to intermediate-level language tools in Greek and Hebrew. People who study deuterocanonical books will need this level of subscription. Think of the old Preaching Suite or Silver packages.
- Logos Max - Bible students who need serious language study tools for advanced research will want to pay for this level. You get the whole feature set at this level to study Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Syriac, and more. Scholars or language nerds will want this subscription.
Most Logos users will want the Logos Pro level unless they need hardcore Bible study tools. However, lay people should get Premium, and then if they think they need more, they should jump up to Pro. Start lower and move up if you need it.
Logos Subscription Pricing and Benefits
How much does the new Logos subscription cost, and what do you enjoy besides the latest features? We'll share the full price. You can get discounts if you own Logos 10 or an older version.
- Logos Premium - $9.99/month, $99.99/year, or $189.80 for two years.
- Logos Pro - $ 14.99/month, $149.99/year, or $284.80 for two years.
- Logos Max - $19.99/month, $199.99/year, or $379.80 for two years.
If you own Logos 10 Bronze or higher, take $3, $5, or $7 off the monthly price of the three tiers. What if you own something lower than Logos 10 Bronze now? The discount gets smaller ($1, $2, $3).
Logos also offers discounts for Faculty and Students who subscribe annually. These users also get excellent deals on libraries—more on those below.
What else do you get besides the new features? Take 5% off every purchase from the store. Get another free book each month and up to eight Logos Mobile Ed courses each quarter. Pro and Max subscribers get access to the Logos Sermons service, which lets you host sermons online in a podcast or transcript format.
Pro and Max subscribers will earn an annual coupon worth 5% of all purchases the previous year. This coupon arrives in February each year and is only for current subscribers. So, if you plan to cancel your subscription, don't do it until after February, or you'll lose this perk.
Legacy Fallback License
What happens if you cancel your subscription? You will lose access to the features that you get by subscribing. However, there's something Logos calls a "Legacy Fallback License," which allows users to keep offline features when they end their subscription after 24 straight months of subscribing. You'll keep the features that don't need cloud or AI. If you have any questions about this, contact Logos to see what you'll lose before you cancel.
What Do You Get in the New Logos Subscription?
What's available in Logos after a user subscribes? We'll cover the new features in another fuller article, but here's a quick listing of new features taken from Logos PR documents:
- Dark mode without restart.
- Get Started Wizard - shows up on the new Logos Dashboard.
- Smart Search - use regular language to search your library.
- Insights - quick looks at your most essential library tools with one click.
- Dynamic toolbar - we covered this in a previous article.
- Help Center (see screenshot below).
- Factbook improvements - new sections and "lenses" to see what's in their passage.
- Smart Synopsis - AI-generated synopsis from search results with footnotes.
- Summarize tool - quick summaries of books, passages, or search results. More is coming.
- Bible Study Builder - the Wordsearch Lesson Maker, but reimagined for Logos and with better-resulting questions.
- Sermon Assistant - Only for Logos Pro and Max Subscribers...
- Outlines - AI-suggested sermon themes and outlines.
- Questions - AI-suggested questions for discussion based on your sermons built using Logos Sermon Builder
- Applications and illustrations - AI-generated sermon applications and illustrations from your sermons.
- Sermon Builder/Manager on Android - Android users can now use this tool, not just iOS users.
New 2025 Libraries to Add More Books to Logos
If the three subscription tiers didn't confuse you, the three tracks of libraries with eight different levels will. Each comes with books you own and can use if you subscribe to Logos. We'll offer a more in-depth recommendation in another article. But let's look at the three tracks and who they're meant for.
The tree tracks focus on who's using Logos. For example, the Standard Track Libraries help people who use Logos for personal use and to teach a Bible study or small group. If you buy a Logos Premium subscription, then you'll likely want to consider the Standard Track Libraries. Take a look at the price and what each includes, and you can buy what you can afford or need.
Next, we see the Leader Track, which focuses on church leaders. Again, if you teach a class or Bible study, you'll want to take a look at this track. You'll get more intermediate-level books.
The Preacher Track Libraries were designed for preachers and pastors. Logos Premium subscribers will likely want to look here.
Finally, the Research Track Libraries will help people who subscribe to Logos Premium or Max. These users write commentaries, translate for new Bibles or in missionary settings, or teach at a seminary or Bible college.
Look for more complexity with Denominational Libraries coming in January 2025.
Recommended Upgrade Path for Different Users
What should you do if you want to upgrade to Logos. First, consider using my Partner Link. Logos gives you one month free and using my link gets you a second month free if you upgrade to a subscription.
First, choose a subscription level. Most users will want Logos Pro, the mid-level tier. You get the most bank for your buck. Since the majority of my readers are pastors, teachers, and serious Bible students who need to do language study, but might not possess an advanced level of Hebrew and Greek skill, then get this tier for $14.99/month, unless you already own Logos 10 Bronze or above. Then it's just $9.99. You can save more with an annual subscription.
Second, you need to pick a library of books. You can get the subscription alone, but why not add some books to your library at a discount. Take a look at the Libraries for 2025 and choose what you an afford. Logos will let you split up payments into a couple of months up to a year to pay off your purchase.
As we said above, they offer several tiers of libraries too. For now, go with Standard and then add to it later. Or jump to the Preacher level if you're subscribing to Pro. They seem to fit together well.
Logos gave me the the Gold Library, but if they hadn't, that's what I would have bought. You add the Preacher's Outline and Semon Bible, the ESV Expository Commentary Collection, and Theologocial Wordbook of the Old Testament to name a few. It's only $600 and if I wanted, I could pay for it over several months to make it more affordable. Logos doesn't charge interest, but you do pay a small fee for processing.
New Logos Redesign - Where Is That Button in Logos 11
First, let's discuss one important element we'll all need to get used to—Logos will no longer be called Logos 11 or any other number. Instead, the new Logos redesign comes with a new designation. They will call it simply Logos and then use version numbers like version 37, the shipping version of the brand new Logos, which many will want to call Logos 11. Think of Logos 11.37, but they're dropping only the 11 part of it.
Second, the new Logos Redesign moved around many things thanks to a new Logos Resource Toolbar in Logos version 37. You might ask, "Where is that button I need?" We'll show you where that button went and the new user interface of Logos version 37 and beyond.
Get the New Logos Now
If you read this article and decide to invest in the new Logos subscription, visit their subscription page. You can also invest in a library to get extra non-subscription content. Let me recommend a few things.
First, the new Logos comes in 3 subscription levels targeted at 3 groups of users.
- Logos Premium—for the average user, it costs $9.99/month or $99.99/year unless you already own Logos 10 Bronze, in which case you'll only pay $6.99 or $69.99. Use my link above to get two months free.
- Logos Pro - for pastors or serious Bible students who don't need academic tools. It costs $14.99/month unless you own Logso 10 Silver and up, in which case it only costs $9.99/month. Yearly discounts cost $149.99 or $99.99, and using my link gets you two free months.
- Logos Max - the highest tier meant for academic users. It costs $19.99/month or $12.99/month for Logos 10 Full Set owners. Logos 10 owners pay $199.99/year or $129.99/year.
These subscription tiers come with discounts for people who subscribe for two years. You get five months free.
Watch the Logos announcement video below.
Subscriber Perks for the New Logos 11
Logos doesn't call it Logos 11 anymore, but they do still offer some great perks. They include the following:
- 5% off store-wide for all subscription levels.
- Extra free book each month for everyone who subscribes.
- 8 Logos Mobile Ed courses focused on the people Logos expects to subscribe to each tier.
- Logos Sermons adds some sermon prep tools for Pro and Max users.
- 5% Annual Reward for Pro and Max users gets you a discount of 5% of your annual spending in February each year for active subscribers as a reward for subscribing. So, if you spent $2,000 on Logos in the past year, you'll get a coupon for $100.
Libraries for the New Logos Subscription
Second, get one of the 2025 Logos Libraries, which are only available to subscribers. These libraries use the same names as previous versions. They range from Starter, which costs as little as $23.79 for Logos 10 owners or $33.99 for owners of older packages, to Collector's Library for $10,999.99. The best bang for the buck comes at the Silver or Gold levels, costing $250 or $850 for new users. Owners of previous versions will pay less.
The above are for Standard Track Libraries. They confusingly offer many other tracks for Leaders, Pastors, and Researchers, and they add to that their denominational Libraries. I suggest that you start with the Standard if you're an average user. Preachers and pastors should look at the Preacher Track Libraries, and academic types or language nerds should go with Researchers Libraries.
Since I'm a preacher, I'd go with the Preacher Track and look at the Silver or God Libraries. This would add to my library the ESV Expository Commentary Series or Biblical Greek Made Simple for Silver. In Gold, I'd get the Preaching the Word Commentary, The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, and The Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible. Each of those links is a partner link.
Logos Redesign Changes the Home Page to the Dashboard
We'll start with a minor change. Logos used to boast a cluttered Home Page, including things like book information, layouts, reading plans, and ads. You could add them by clicking a plus button in the upper right corner.
The new Logos Redesign changed the Home Page to the Dashboard. It's not that different, but it has a new name. If you use the default toolbar location, look for it in the upper left corner. People who position their toolbar on the top edge of the program window will find the button to the right of the Logos logo. Hover over it, and you'll see the popup tooltip that shows the Dashboard label.
You'll find a few important features on the new Dashboard.
- Welcome to Logos Video - click this video in the upper left corner labeled Welcome to Logos Pro or whatever subscription level you use. You can watch the short intro video that explains many of these new changes.
- What would you like to do today? - The lighter blue square next to the Welcome video square shows five options, including...
- Personal study
- Group Bible study
- Write a sermon
- Original language
- Pick up where I left off
- Need some help? - gives help for using Logos with options to:
- Ask about Logos - ask natural language questions about how to use Logos.
- Get Started - opens a page for those new to Logos.
- Videos and Webinars - take users to the great Logos tutorial videos and helpful webinars page.
- Features - opens a page with training videos covering several features in Logos.
- Technical Support - helps you find various technical support options.
- Community - opens the great Logos community forums page. They've promised a new forum interface coming soon.
- Help Manual - opens the Help Manual built into Logos.
New Logos Resource Toolbar
Logos now offers a helpful new toolbar called the Resource Toolbar. This toolbar reorganizes the buttons to make the program more efficient; however, changes take time to get used to. Let's look at this new Resource Toolbar.
The new Resource Toolbar now has a set of tabs across the top of the Bible window. You can toggle it on or off by clicking on the names of each tab on the toolbar.
- The Back Button takes you back to your browsing history, like you'd find in a web browser.
- In the Book Dropdown Box, click the down arrow button with your book cover. You will see a list of your Bible translations, commentaries, dictionaries, or other books similar to the one currently displayed.
- An Entry Box lets you type in a Bible passage or other entry, which will take you to the passage or article you entered.
- Home - shows the primary tools in a toolbar below the Resource Toolbar as follows:
- Contents
- Favorites
- History
- Chapter with Up and Down Arrows
- Link set - this used to be in a different location, so note that you now connect books to the Bible translation you want to drive the others. For example, set your commentary to follow your Bible when you move from passage to passage.
- Insights - a new feature that shows your top related books and passages connected to the passage open in a Bible translation.
- Search - opens a search box. Notice the three links at the right end. YOu can click these to narrow your search results or change where Logos will look for results.
- Notes - includes options to show or hide notes in text, add notes or highlights, and filter your notes. It also has arrows to jump to previous or next notes.
- Formatting - change the formatting of the text in the open book.
- Factbook Tags - shows what words in your text have Factbook entries. Click the drop-down to change what tags show or don't show.
- Markers - Logos includes icons that show it has more information on things like Addresses, Speakers, Timeline Events, and Media
- Emphasize - emphasizes corresponding words when you hover over them or click on them by highlighting a word used multiple times.
- Reformat - change the look of text in a book.
- Reading Plans - shows markers for the beginning and ending points of any reading plans active for a passage or book.
- Passage Lists - shows passages found in any passage lists you've created.
- Visual Filters - shows any visual filters you created.
- View - change the look of the book display.
- Add parallel text—you can add columns of text as seen above or rows of texts, depending on which button you select in the pop-up window.
- Interlinear - turn on the Interlinear using this button. You can customize which information shows up in the Interlinear.
- View Continued...
- Paged view - shows you either a paged view with columns like you might find in a printed bible with multiple columns of text or show a single column that scrolls. YOu can also change how many columns of text show up.
- Location bar - turn on and off the Location bar that shows where you are in the current book or Bible, like "Hebrews > Chapter 4" seen in the above screenshot.
- Tools - shows tabs for tools used to interact with the text.
- Compare - opens text comparison.
- Translate - opens the AI Translation tool.
- Summarize - opens the AI Summarize tool, which summarizes the current article in the open book.
- Read aloud - reads the current text using the computer-generated voice of the OS.
- Start reading plan - opens a new reading plan for the current book or Bible.
- Printer/Export - opens the Print/Export Dialogue box.
- Share - offers various methods of sharing what you're reading.
- Copy - select some text and click this button to copy it, or use CTRL+C on Windows or CMD+C on Mac
- Copy special - shows some of the options you would find in the Copy Bible Verse tool.
- Copy link - creates a link you can use in notes or online which will open Logso to the present location of the book or Bible displayed.
- Create slides - opens the Media generation tool which lets you create visual copies of text for us in Proclaim, PowerPoint, Keynote, or other apps.
- Send to - sends the current selection to a Clipping, a Passage List, a Canvas, or Proclaim.
- Print/Export - opens the Print/Export dialog box.
You'll see a blue New button, which opens a Logos Community post. This will likely go away eventually. Also, at the far right end, you'll see a button that looks like an up or down arrow in a circle. This toggles the Resource Toolbar on or off. Finally, there's the menu button (it looks like three dots stacked vertically). Here, you'll see controls that work with the current book window.
- Find in this panel - type something, and you'll see corresponding highlights showing the text in the open book.
- Send hyperlinks here - when you click a Bible reference link in another open book window, the links are sent to this window.
- Open in a floating window and Open all in a floating window - opens the current book in a separate window or floating window or all the books in that tab in floating windows.
- Duplicate this tab - open another copy of the current book in the first tab in a second tab, just like it.
- Reopen the closed tab - if you recently closed a tab, it opens again.
- Close this tab, other tabs, or all tabs - self-explanatory.
5 Best Audio Bible Apps for iPhone or Android in 2024
We have the 5 best audio Bible Apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, and, in some cases, desktop and web. See if your favorite app shows up.
While I personally love reading my Bible, I know many people prefer listening to the Word. Most people consumed the original books of the Bible audibly instead of visually in a book or scroll. If you're looking for the best audio Bible app for your iPhone (or even Android!), this list is for you. We'll dive into the top 5 options, each with its unique features to enhance your Bible listening experience.
Dwell: Audio Bible - Best Audio Bible Apps for Dedicated Bible Listeners Willing to Pay for a Subscription
The Dwell: Audio Bible app runs on iPhone and iPad. Users can install it on a Mac thanks to Apple's M processors. Finally, it also works on Android.
When you open the app, you see a screen with four tabs across the bottom and the Settings icon in the upper right. This screen appears after you go through the first setup screen the first time you run the app.
Home shows you various listening options. There's an Explore tab to find something to listen to. The Bible tab lets you listen based on predefined listening plans or by book of the Bible split into two screens for the Old and New Testament. Finally, you can search the Bible, which will help you listen to a specific passage. You see the Me tab with Favorite verses, Downloads, Playlists, Plans, and your Listening Queue.
Try out Dwell app for free, but you'll need to buy a subscription to use the full feature set. It costs $39.99 a year or $7.99 a month. That's steep, but if you really love listening to the Bible, try it out and subscribe for a month. The $40/year will seem worth it if you find it useful. Otherwise, try one of the options below.
Bible from YouVersion - Best Free Audio Bible Apps
Most Bible listeners will enjoy free over $40 or $8. The most popular Bible app on mobile is YouVersion. The app does more than play audio of your favorite Bible. You can get it on iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and your computer through the browser.
The app includes audio Bibles, videos related to Scripture, and almost every translation you might want to read and download. You will also see many reading plans to choose from.
The Bible app includes social media components that let you follow the activities of other Bible readers and share yours.
Listen to a Bible by downloading one that includes audio. For example, I downloaded the NKJV, and it shows an audio icon next to the name in the translation chooser drop-down list. Open it, and the screen shows the text and a Play button. Go to your desired passage and click or tap the play icon.
You can't beat free; the other features make it a great option. The voices sound pretty good, but Dwell sounds better. The Store tab lets you buy books Bibles and books with audio.
Logos Bible Study - Best Audio Bible Apps for Cross Platform that Lets You Grow
Many people already own a Logos library, so don't overlook their listening features. We don't have time to explore everything the Logos Bible Study app can do, but the Audio features will help you enjoy an audio Bible inside your favorite Bible study app.
Some of the audio uses the built-in iOS voices, which sound pretty robotic. However, if you go to the Menu button in the lower right corner and choose Audio, you can find plenty of Audio Books, including some Bibles.
To listen to basic audio, open a Bible and tap on the Audio button in the Bible's toolbar (second from right). It opens the audio control screen at the bottom of the app.
If you want to listen to a better-quality Audio Bible, open one. Search the Library search box for "Audio," and you'll see many audiobooks. Everyone will own the Lexham English Bible Audio New Testament, but your library might include others.
The Logos Bible Study app doesn't cost anything. The most essential features and library also cost nothing. However, you'll want to buy a library to make the most out of it. As of this day, Logos has a great sale on Logos 10, which they call their Farewell Tour because Logos 11 will ship soon. Buy a library or upgrade package (affiliate link) now and save a lot of money. You can get the CSB Audio Bible if you buy one of the smaller packages. Everyone receives the LEB and ESV Audio Bibles.
Bible.IS for Free Apps Focused on Audio
Few people know about the excellent Bible.IS app. It's free and focuses on audio and text Bibles. There's an online version, the Android and iOS apps. You can listen to a few English translations like NKJV, NLT, ESV, and CEV. The app also offers 3 video versions (ESV, KJV, and NIV).
When we rounded up the 4 best Android Audio Bible Apps, Bible.IS won the award for our Winner: Best Audio Bible Apps for Android. After a few years, I think Dwell and YouVersion would win that award—Dwell for audio quality and YouVersion for the overall quality of the app's features and usefulness for more than audio.
Olive Tree Bible Study for High-Quality Audio Bibles
Olive Tree produced the best mobile Bible Study app for many years. Recently, others overcame their feature deficit and the quality of the user interface design. However, it's still a good tool for more than Audio Bibles.
The Audio Bible feature built into Olive Tree Bible Study works well. We included it in our roundup of Android apps a few years ago. You can read, study, and research your passage. However, to listen, open an Audiobook from the app's library, which appears on the main screen's toolbar next to the menu button on the left. There's a tab for Cloud and Device, which shows the books in your library that you downloaded (Device) or haven't yet downloaded (Cloud). The books with audio include a headphone icon on the bottom of the book cover in your library. Tap to open the book.
Many will have the KJV Complete Audio Bible Dramatized in their library. Click to open it and tap on the play button at the bottom of the screen. Navigate to your chosen passage by clicking the dark green button at the top of the window. A Book Chapter Verse chooser will pop up.
To get more books, tap on the Recommended tab in your library. It shows the Olive Tree Store where you can find more books, which may or may not include audio. It's easier to find them on their website.
6 Reasons to Switch from Accordance to Logos Bible Software
A lot of people who use Bible software want to know if there's a good reason to switch from Accordance to Logos Bible Software. we've got 6 reasons to switch.
With the upcoming release of a new version of Logos Bible Software, many Bible software users might want to switch from Accordance to Logos. Why would someone go through the hassle of making the switch from Accordance to Logos Bible Software even though it means buying much of the same content you already own in the other program? Switching also involves learning a new user interface and finding new sources of learning or support for the new Logos.
Here are 6 reasons to switch from Accordance to Logos Bible Software.
Get Logos 10 With Biggest Discounts Ever Offered
In August, Logos will offer the most significant discounts on Logos 10. They called it their "Farewell Tour 2024 because Logos 11 will hit their store soon.
Click the image above, which will take you to my affiliate link to get...
- Full Feature Upgrades at up to 65% Off if you own Logos 10.
- Get a new Logos 10 base package and save up to 50% off for those upgrading from an earlier version.
- For first time buyers of Logos 10, get 5 free books.
Learn about the new era of Logos that will come with Logos 11.
Robust Sync Elements in Logos Bible Software Way Ahead of Accordance
This might seem like a strange place to begin, but it's one of the features promised when Accordance 14 came out a long time ago, and they still don't have it.
Syncing does more than keep your content, settings, and user-created content in more places. Change settings on your desktop, and it will sync to your laptop. Add notes on a verse with your phone while listening to your pastor, and they'll end up on your desktop. If you're studying on a friend's or family's computer, you can hit the Logos Web App, and your work will sync to other devices.
Syncing makes Logos great, but it also helps back up your work. If your computer dies, you can work on an iPad or a Samsung Android tablet. Then, once you get a new computer, install Logos, and your work will be ready to use after it finishes downloading and indexing your library.
Great Features that Make Logos Easier to Use for Bible Study
I could write a post on this topic alone. We may discuss it later, but here's a bullet list of why these features make Logos Bible Software a superior option.
- Advanced Search Features—Logos struggled with basic search, so many of us searched Google instead. That's changed with versions 10 and 11, which promised to improve it with built-in AI features. You won't get these in Accordance. See the link to learn more about how Advanced Search in Logos simplifies your research.
- Use of Louw-Nida Numbers—Louw-Nida Numbers offers access to the lexicon that many students love. The book description on Logos.com says, "This lexicon differs from other lexicons in that it does not arrange words alphabetically and does not give one listing of a word with all of that word's meanings after it. Instead, it breaks words down by their various shades of meaning." (See Above)
- Unicode Fonts - Biblical languages work better when they use Unicode fonts. You can type in Greek or Hebrew; they will look more readable.
- Print Library ISBN Scanner—Logos will let you scan your physical library books and show you search results from those books in your library if they offer them as Logos books. You can see where the search hit shows up in your book. You can take it off the shelf and read it or buy it from Logos. We learned about this new feature in our article on what's new in Logos Mobile 10. (See Below)
- Search books you don't even own - When you search your library, Logos also offers links to books you don't own. Some might not like this, calling it spam. But, if you need some information in a book you don't own, you can quickly buy it, download it, and incorporate it into your research.
Switch from Accordance to Logos Because of the Logos Mobile App's Full Set of Features
For years, I complained about Accordance's weaknesses on Android and iOS. Sadly, it never got better. Now, you can't even download the Android app from the Google Play Store. You must get it from the Amazon App Store for Android or Accordance's website. Even that link tells you it's on the Google Play Store, but if you click their link, you'll get an error saying the link isn't available.
Many Accordance users report issues with syncing content directly via their terrible sync feature or Dropbox. To sync with your computer installation of Accordance, you have to set both the app and the desktop program to sync over local Wi-Fi.
You can also connect both apps to your Dropbox, requiring you to rely on a third party. People complain that Dropbox sync often corrupts notes files.
Compare that to the iOS and Android versions of Logos. They include a large percentage of the desktop features. Syncing works quickly and automatically in the background soon after you open any version of Logos while connected to the Internet.
Accordance includes less than a third of the desktop program's features. That's a generous percentage.
iOS includes a little more than Android, but not much. Both are essentially book reader apps with unreliable note-taking and highlighting features. You can do some Bible study.
Logos includes many great language study tools, commentary searching, and much more.
Quick and Useful Updates
Logos updates their app often and usually with more stability than less. Accordance updates slowly, and the mobile seldom gets updates. Logos mobile on iOS went from version 30 to version to version 35 (all minor updates) in 8 months. That's a massive benefit if you use a feature that doesn't work. Logos will take your bug report and create a ticket, and their developers will work on it quickly. If they can fix it easily, it often gets fixed in a week or a month. Occasionally, it takes a little longer.
Accordance received only four updates on iOS in the last two years. All of them were minor bug fixes. As we said, you can't even get it on Google Play Store. The latest version (2.2.3) came out in Summer 2021. Not even one minor bug fix has come out since.
Significant updates on Logos for Desktop come out about once every two years. Accordance went from 13 to 14 two years ago. However, Logos aggressively updates their Desktop app with minor releases that add new features. They come out often monthly. Accordance for desktop doesn't update nearly as quickly.
The update to version 14 promised many great features. Two years later, we still do not see many of these, like an online version and syncing over the internet without needing Dropbox.
Best Online Bible App Bar None
We've looked at online Bible study apps in the past. We posted that here in 2020, and it needs an update. However, the best still comes from Logos.
The Logos Web App includes many features available in the Logos Bible Study App for your desktop or laptop. It's as good as or better than the mobile version.
The user-interface looks different on the web, but once you open your books and get to work it behaves much like the desktop. You have word study tools like the Exegetical Guide, reverse interlinear features, great searching features, and other guides (Bible Word Study, Sermon Starter, Passage Guide).
The Factbook offers a lot of the features from the Desktop as well.
Sadly, Accordance users don't have an online version. There's a promise that it will come soon, but I doubt it will. When it does, it won't likely offer more than basic book reading and searching tools. I hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so.
New AI Features in Logos Bible Software
I'm working on an article for ChurchTechToday.com regarding their new AI tools, and I'll link to it here.
The new features include Insights. Open a book, and you'll see a button on the book's toolbar labeled Insights. This button gives you cards showing information from Related books, Related passages, and Cross References.
A nice addition to the Search tool lets users search with natural language. Open Search and set it to Smart using the drop-down list button at the top right. Then, enter a natural language search. I entered "Where did Jesus first talk about discipleship?" and it returned hits from several spots in multiple translations since I had it set to search my Top Bibles.
The Synopsis tool in the resulting search will give you an overview of your search results.
I then switched my search to Downloaded Books, which yielded results for many book types. Again, the Synopsis tools summarized the results. You will see a number referencing the sources of the synopsis summary.
Those are just a few of the new AI-empowered features in Logos. I don't think Accordance has AI tools on its radar since it's still working to release the promised features from version 14. The company has a tiny programming team, so I understand why it's taking a long time, but I fear it will get left behind.
Logos Blue Friday Sale: Door Buster Sales on Excellent Titles and Collections
There's Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon's big Prime Day sale. We now have Logos Blue Friday Sale, which starts June 21 and continues through July 1, 2024. The link above can help you save a lot of green on Logos Bible Software titles and collections.
Save 20% on Logos Bible Software Collections in Logos Blue Friday Sale Till July 1
During this great Logos Blue Friday Sale, Logos 10 packages cost 20% less. That means you can buy a base package or maybe a denominational package like the Baptist Package and get all the features in Logos 10 plus some additional books. For example, in the Baptist package, you'll get the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary set, Surgeon Sermon Collection, and Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Sermon Preparation Workflow, which I highly recommend (2 previous links will let you buy the individual titles instead of a package).
Logos's base packages will come with the tools you need to do advanced Bible study and some good books to go with your package. You will get more than you can likely ever read or use. However, it's fun to search through your library after getting of these packages. Here's my recommendation. Head over to the sale page and look at the various packages.
If you're just getting started, consider...
- Logos 10 Starter gives buyers some simple tools and books. You won't get all the features, but enough to learn to use Logos and go from a newbie to an advanced user.
- Logos 10 Feature Upgrades removes the extra books and only adds the features and books needed to run those features. If you already have a decent library from older versions, consider getting the Starter Feature Upgrade or go higher with the Silver or Full Feature Upgrade, which offers the best bang for the buck.
- Logos 10 Gold Package brings the most commentaries without making you feel like you're making a down payment on a Ford F250 Truck. It's a full package of tools and nearly all the best features in Logos 10.
- Logos 10 Platinum lets buyers access a vast library. Don't buy this unless you want to brag about owning thousands of titles and have the money to buy it.
Logos 10 Door Buster Sales on Excellent Titles in the Blue Friday Sale Till July 1
Do you remember when you'd watch news stories on the Friday after Thanksgiving when people would mow down a 90-year-old great-grandmother to get to that 65-inch TV for $599. Today you can get a great TV that size every day. In the old days that was the Best Buy Door Buster Sale on Black Friday.
During the Logos Blue Friday Sale, there's no need to stand in line or beat up grandmas. Head over to the website and click some great door-buster titles to add them to your cart. Here are my Top 5 Recommended Logos Blue Friday Sale Door Buster Titles.
- International Exegetical Commentary on the Old Testament (IECOT) and The New International Greek Testament Commentary (NIGTC) Commentary Collection (23 vols.) - more than half off at $449.99
- The New American Commentary Series | NAC (43 vols.) - my favorite commentary set for scholars and preachers alike, and it costs only $319.99, down from the regular price of $799.99.
- Sermon Finder Collection - a great source of sermons and commentaries for preachers with over 645 resources. It usually costs $5,867.99, but it's down to $1,173.59 in this sale. That's a whopping 80% off.
- Factbook Collection - adds more information to the great Logos Factbook, which shows students information on people, places, things, and events. It also includes dictionaries, Bible study books about various topics in scripture, Greek and Hebrew tools, and theology tools. The sale makes it $597, which is 70% off.
- Zondervan Academic New Testament Collections: New Testament Studies - a lot of Zondervan's best titles including the NIVAC: New Testament collection, one of my favorite Commentary sets. You'll also get Word Biblical Commentary, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on NT, and more. The Logos Blue Friday Sale will save you 50% making it only $1,734.49.
Effective Methods for Application in Sermon Application
Master the art of Application in Sermon Development. Understand how to incorporate Biblical truths into your listeners'effectively into.
Every sermon listener inevitably asks, “So what?” They want to understand why they spent the last 20-40 minutes listening to this preacher. How does a text written two to four thousand years ago resonate with me in the present? This is the essence of Application in Sermon Development. Applying the text is perhaps the most crucial task a preacher tackles. Application takes the text and implants it into the will and potentially the listener's lifestyle.
We will explore what applications help listeners incorporate the text into their lives. The application emphasizes the ancient texts' timeless relevance, which can transform a person's daily life. It seeks to change the hearers' lives in specific ways, as presented by the text we preach.
What is Application in Sermon Development?
As our previous posts on the 4 Essential Elements of Sermon Development said, we seek to help our listeners...
- Understand the message or Big Idea by explaining the text and the idea we're preaching from the text.
- Believe the Big Idea through proof or argumentation that helps the listener believe what we're saying is true.
- See what the Big Idea looks like or use natural analogies, quotations, statistics, or other illustrations that helped us develop the sermon's Big Idea.
- Now we explain how to apply the Big Idea to a person's life.
My home shower has tiles with grout between each tile. The builder failed to seal it properly, and the grout deteriorated, causing leaks behind the shower wall. We got the grout fixed, and now we need to seal it. We bought a can of material that promises to seal the grout, and a guy who knows far more than I do said this was good stuff. Right now, that sealant still sits in the can it came in from Lowe's. We have yet to apply it to the shower tiles.
Like that can of sealant, my sermon will only make a difference if I help my audience actively engage with the idea and put it into action in their lives. I need to spray the sermon development dispenser to apply the Biblical notion, just like I need to spray the grout sealant onto my shower tile. It's not enough to study the passage, craft a message that we effectively explain with accessible information and good illustrations the audience can imagine, and prove the truth of our message. We must also guide them in applying the message to their lives.
What does it mean to apply the text? What does good application in sermon development look like?
An Example of Applying a Biblical Idea from Romans 12:3
We'll use Romans 12:3, which says…
For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
Romans 12:3, NKJV
We want to help our audience understand, believe, and imagine the practical meaning of the message from verse 3, which says we're not to "think of himself more highly than he ought to think." We should remain humble as we seek to present our bodies to God as "living sacrifices" (Romans 12:1). Let God control your mind. You do that by humbling yourself even to the point of personal sacrifice, like Jesus, who died for us.
Our message states, "We can only serve God sacrificially when we humble ourselves willingly."
We would explain that sacrifice comes from verses one and two, which ask us to present our bodies to the Lord as living sacrifices. Do a word study to explain the kind sacrifice Paul asks of us. Then, prove the truth of humility as a prerequisite to proper self-sacrifice.
We should show our listeners what that looks like and explain how they can live a humble, self-sacrificing life before God.
How to Give Away the Praise - Apply Rom 12:3
As a pastor, I often received far more attention and glory than deserved. Our church would hold Vacation Bible School and bring in many guests who didn't usually attend church. The worship time, the games, the food, and the lessons came together with precision. We ended the week with a great time of celebration, and parents came to watch their little tikes perform kids' songs and quote memory verses. In the end, some people would tell me what a great job I did, but I didn't do it. I always followed the advice of Dr. Thom Rainer, one of my seminary professors, during my time at Southern Seminary.
Dr. Thom Rainer said in Church Growth class...
Always give away the praise.
It's tempting to gobble up praise and accolades for yourself. Praise feels good and boosts your ego. But, even if you know you are responsible for something good happening, find a way to give away the praise. Sacrifice what you think you deserve by building up the people who serve along with you. They will want to continue to serve when they feel appreciated.
My experience as a pastor during VBS and Rainer's quotation illustrates how a pastor can humble himself sacrificially and willingly to fulfill his calling to build up people in his congregation.
Consider getting Thom Rainer's book, Who Moved My Pulpit, for great discussions on Biblical leadership (note that's an Amazon Affiliate Link).
Methods of Effective Kinds of Sermon Application
Illustrations are helpful tools for preachers who aim to apply their message to the lives of their congregation. For guidance on how to use them effectively, please look at our previous action in sermon development. Illustrations help people see how they can live the truth through their experiences.
You can use several tools for application in sermon development, such as:
- Natural Analogies: Illustrations from the real world become metaphors for our ideas.
- Examples: Illustrations demonstrate how a person applies the truth.
- Quotations: Effective quotes should come from famous people everyone respects or knows. They should be worded creatively, cleverly, and succinctly state the truth. Long quotes should be avoided, as they may be difficult to follow.
- Cross References: Quotes from other portions of scripture or stories from the Bible that speak to how to live a truth. However, it is essential to remember that unless you can effectively prove your idea, these alone won't help as some listeners may not accept scripture as accurate. Also, carefully choose passages that prove your point, and don't take them out of context. We call that proof-texting.
- Suggest Community Support: Please encourage your listeners to discuss the idea with fellow believers and let each other know how to apply Biblical truths in their daily lives.
The Final Product of Application in Sermon Development
Let's take our Biblical idea. It says, "We can only serve God sacrificially when we humble ourselves willingly." The overall sermon tells us to present our bodies as living sacrifices. What does that mean? We serve God sacrificially only as we serve humbly. Earlier. I offered an example of how I did that as a pastor. Since we must change our attitudes, we might need an illustration or natural analogy that deals with a humble attitude.
We can only serve God sacrificially when we humble ourselves willingly.
Our sermon idea from Romans 12:3
Here's an example of sermon development crafted to develop our Biblical idea.
A pair of cardinals live behind my office building. I see them occasionally land on my window sill. One day, the female cardinal flew into the window. I presume she thought she could fly into my office and didn't realize the window wasn't an opening. Or she's stubborn and didn't believe a window could stop her.
As I considered each cardinal's coloring, I wondered if the male's beauty and bright red feathers made him a greater target for predators. Do they notice him first and attack him instead of his less colorful mate?
Too often, we exaggerate our accomplishments and try to win the glory of others instead of giving it away. We become targets of people frustrated by our arrogance. If a man humbles himself, he will succeed in serving the Lord because God will bless his humble service and, by God's grace, use the man to achieve more for the kingdom.
Give away the glory people bestow on you. Respond to praise by saying, "Thank you, but Jane deserves the credit. She worked tirelessly to make that dinner a success. I hope you will tell her how much you like it. I know I will. But I thank you for your kind words. I'll share them with all who helped make it a success."
Explaining How Our Application Example Works
The above example includes the natural analogy of a pair of cardinals I see regularly outside my office window. Their coloring illustrates humility versus pride. In reality, no one blames male cardinals for looking prettier. God designed them that way. However, the natural, real-world analogy illustrates the concept.
Our cardinal couple explains, in a natural analogy, the concept of our Biblical truth (explanation). We can understand (the mind) and see (the imagination) what we're discussing from Romans 12:3.
Our example proves that God blesses us when we sacrifice the glory.
Finally, the application in sermon development comes in our example of someone who gave away praise from a person regarding this church dinner. He said Jane deserved the credit. It was humble because he thanked the person for their kind words but clarified that he didn't do what the person praised. Instead, Jane deserved it.
Be Careful of the Heresy of Improper Application
Photo by Ron Lach on Pexels.com
Preachers often get the text's main idea and explain it well. However, when they attempt to apply it to real life, they improperly apply it. This takes a good message and tries to force people to do what God never wanted to say they should do. It's like working a puzzle; you think a puzzle piece fits in one spot, but it's intended to fit in another. It doesn't fit; you must force it, mangling that puzzle piece. Haddon Robinson called this the Heresy of Application.
Haddon said in an interview about the concept of application that preachers introduce more heresy through application than in any other part of sermon development. The example he offered came from the book of Ruth. He once heard a sermon on the story, and the preacher said that this taught him how to properly deal with in-laws. He continued...
Now, it’s true that in Ruth you have in-laws. The problem is, Ruth was not given to solve in-law problems. The sermon had a lot of practical advice, but it didn’t come from the Scriptures.
The preacher he mentioned likely got the Explanation and Proof wrong, too. The whole Big Idea missed the target completely.
We hit the mark with our Sermon Idea: "We can only serve God sacrificially when we humble ourselves willingly" from Romans 12:3. I'd explain what sacrifice means and how we should humble ourselves and sacrifice praise for the glory of God and to bless others.
A Good Example of Bad Application in Sermon Development
What if I applied the text to sports? We don't want athletes who play more for the name on the back of their jersey than the name on the front of the jersey. For those who don't follow sports, teams often print the team name on the front and the player's name on the back.
Why is the above sports application a heretical application of Romans 12:3? In context, Romans 12:3 clearly applies to building the church. We could correct our mistake by turning the illustration into a natural analogy instead of an example of proper application.
Aaron Rodgers played quarterback for the Green Bay Packers when they won their last Super Bowl following the 2010 season. He became insufferable to many fans. They believed he promoted himself more than he supported his team. He seemed to promote his own name on the back of his jersey instead of the team's name on the front.
Many preachers today lead their churches for their own glory, robbing others of the proper praise they deserve for well-done jobs. More importantly, too many pastors rob God of glory by never directing praise to Him.
It's one thing to thank people after they compliment you on a message. It's ungodly to preach that message for the compliments of people instead of for the congregation and the kingdom and the joy of the Lord.
How to Run the Logos Web App Like a Desktop Program
You can run the Logos Web App like a desktop program using a cool little known Safari feature or a simple Chrome Extenstion.
Would you like to open the Logos Web App for Logos Bible Software with a single action like you would with the desktop version of Logos? Instead of opening your browser and browsing the Logos Web App website for online Bible study, use a cool Safari feature you probably didn't know existed or an excellent Chrome Extension that works on both Mac and Windows. There's also a feature in the Windows Edge browser that installs a web page like an app. You can use them to install the Logos Web App to work like a Desktop Program instead of a bookmark or favorite.
Why Use the Logos Web App Instead of the Desktop Program?
Why do some people prefer the Logos Web App for great Bible study on a website instead of Logos Bible Software's desktop program?
- Logos Web App Runs Faster, Usually: If you use Logos while connected to a fast Internet connection, you can probably get things done faster on the web app than the desktop program.
- Logos Desktop App Can Consume a Lot of Space: If I install the desktop program, my Logos library consumes nearly 70 GB of space, while the Web App uses much less.
- Users Find the Web App's User Interface Simpler: Many people prefer the user interface on the website. It seems less complicated than the desktop program. It's also not as feature-filled.
- Run Logos on Linux or ChromeOS: Logos doesn't make native versions that run on Linux or ChromeOS. You can run the Android app on some ChromeOS computers, but you may want the Logos Web App version since it looks and works more like the desktop.
How to Create a Safari Web App That Behaves Like a Computer Program
This only works in Safari on a Mac, which I use 99% of the time. Below, we'll show you how to do it in Chrome so you can do this on your Windows computer.
Go to the Logos Web App page. You'll find it at app.logos.com. You can also try out the beta version by using the address beta.app.logos.com. Click on the File menu in Safari and choose Add to Dock towards the bottom of the menu. This adds the icon on the right below to your Dock.
You'll now see an icon in the Dock on your Mac that looks like the Logos logo with white trim around a slightly smaller logo instead of the larger logo with no white trim (see comparison image above).
Click on the Web App Icon to open the Logos Web App in Safari. It opens the page in a simplified Safari window. The Safari User Interface includes the Safari URL bar, bookmarks bar, and tabs. You won't see them in the Web App Mode created by adding the page to your dock. This makes the Web App look better than it does in Safari.
How to Add a Chrome Web App for Logos Using a Chrome Extension
After installing the Extension on Chrome, click the Extensions button on the toolbar. Click the Pin icon next to the extension to make it always visible on the toolbar unless you want to hide it and only access it when you need it.
Head over to the Logos Web App, either the stable release or beta version, and then click on the Install as App button you just placed on the toolbar. If you skipped that step because you don't want it visible on the toolbar, click the Extensions button to show the list of extensions installed in Chrome. Click Install as App to add the Logos Web App to your Chrome Web Apps folder. The app will also ask if you want to add it to your Windows Taskbar. I chose to add it.
Where to Find Chrome Web Apps on Windows or Mac
You'll find the Chrome Web Apps folder in Finder in your Home folder (the one with your login name for macOS). Open Finder and go to your Home folder. You'll see the Applications folder. Click on it, and you'll see a Chrome Apps folder. The Logos Web App icon sits in this folder. The link automatically placed in your Dock points to this folder. Here's the folder's location on Mac.
/Users/kevin/Applications/Chrome Apps
On Windows, the Chrome Web Apps folder will show up in your Windows User folder at the following location:
C:\Users[Username]\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Web Applications
Open the folder that has a long name with random characters. There, you'll find your Web Apps on Windows.
On Mac, you can drag these to the Dock or Desktop or, if you prefer, into your Applications folder. On Windows, you can drag the icon to the Desktop or Taskbar.
Install a Web App Using Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge will also install a web page as an app. To do so, head to the Logos Web App (stable or beta version) and click on the three dots icon at the right end of your Edge toolbar. Find the Apps item in the menu that pops up. Then, choose Install Logos Bible Study to install the Logos Web App using Edge.
Notice there's also an option to View apps on that Apps menu flyout. You can find all web pages that you installed as Web Apps. A window opens that lets you customize the Web Apps. Click Open next to the Web App, and it will open. With the Web App open in a simplified Edge window, click the three horizontal dots icon, and you'll find the customization there, too.
You can pin the app to your taskbar, the Start menu, or the Desktop. You can also restart the Web App when you log into Windows.
Proving Your Point with Argumentation in Sermon Development - Part 3
In our series on sermon development we come to proving your points using good argumentation. What does that mean and how do you do it. Plus we've got more Logos deals.
In your sermon development, you should include 4 essential elements: explanation, illustration, application, and a fourth one that too many preachers leave out. We call it either argumentation or proof.
Each kind of sermon development answers a question:
- Explanation: What does that mean?
- Application: Why does it matter to me?
- Argumentation or Proof: Is that true?
- Illustration: What does that look like?
Why Do We Need to Prove a Biblical Truth with Argumentation?
Have you heard this popular statement among Bible-believing Christians? "The Bible says, I believe it, and that settles it." I've also heard people shorten it to, "The Bible says it so that settles it."
The Bible says, I believe it, and that settles it.
Well-known evangelical quote.
Unfortunately, we preach to people who don't believe things just because the Bible says it. Some guests at your church don't believe the Bible is infallible. Even church members might choose only parts of the Bible to believe and apply. A recent Barna study defined a Biblical worldview and found that most Christians disagreed with that definition. So, we must consider these people as we prepare to preach our message.
Many Christians believe something until it forces them to change their assumptions or behavior; then, they willingly give up their Biblical convictions and choose to live like they want. We must prove to them that applying the Bible in their lives brings them into proper obedience and makes it in their best interest to obey.
My seminary preaching professor, Wayne McDill, wrote:
Sermons are designed to persuade. But if you are to be persuasive, you will have to make a case for your ideas. You will have to demonstrate that your point is reasonable and worthy of belief, that what you are saying makes sense. Argument is that part of your support material in which you give reasons for accepting the principles you are presenting.
McDill, Wayne. 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching.
Click here to get it in Logos Bible Software.
Tying Your Sermon Argumentation to the Context
Advanced preachers use multiple sermon types or outline styles to carry the text's message, and we want to describe where we should place argumentation or proof in our sermon development.
You might call yourself an expository preacher because you work through books of the Bible and take a verse-by-verse approach. It's like a commentary that covers each verse separately. That's a form of preaching, but it's not Expository Preaching.
Truly Expository Preaching follows the Big Idea of the text, as well as the tone and form of the passage. For example, if you preach poetic language and imagery from a Psalm, you won't preach a didactic sermon with few mental images. Use the mental images the Psalmist offers and share them to make your points. Explain the imagery and how it relates to the theological concepts your message presents, following the author's approach in both content and tone. Your sermon development might contain a modern-day version of the psalmist image to explain your idea.
Once you've explained the idea and tied it to the text, you will argue the truth of the concept for your audience. Don't assume they will believe it because David wrote it. This is where we fit proof or argumentation in our sermon development.
An Example of Where Argumentation Fits from Psalm 1
Look at Psalm 1, which includes several metaphors to describe the godly man. We learn that he's like a person taking a walk. He won't walk by ungodly influences and get distracted by them. We get a mental image of someone stopping to look at what the ungodly are doing. Then he sits down with them. The progression of walking by, stopping, and taking a seat is the mental image of being drawn into the sins of the ungodly.
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;Psalm 1:1, NKJV (italics mine)
You will first need to show the hearer what you mean by describing the scene or telling a story about a time when you were distracted by something while taking a walk or driving along the road. You've used an illustration or natural analogy to explain what you mean by the concept of distractions from a spiritual relationship with God.
As the Deer Panteth for My Attention
I once drove home at night along Yellow Banks Road near my home in the rural area of Wilkes County, NC. A home along that road has a huge field in front and to the left. There's a row of trees about an acre off the road. We recently moved here and, at dusk, saw some deer. It grabbed my attention, and my wife counted. The number grew while my speed decreased. Finally, I nearly came to a stop to see for myself. We counted more than a dozen deer in that field.
Those deer grabbed my attention to the point where I nearly stopped. Sometimes, as we walk along God's path, we get distracted and slow down to see something. We stop and might take a seat to examine it for a while.
After explaining the concept using an illustration, you must prove it to your modern hearers who don't assume the Bible's truth. This leads us to the next step in proving your point with Biblical argumentation.
Consider Arguments People Might Make Against the Big Idea and Answer Them
You've shown the audience what you mean and explained how it relates to the text. Next, brainstorm possible arguments against the Big Idea. How might someone object to the text and your statement of the idea?
You could write the idea at the top of a page or type it into your sermon notes. Then, use bullet points to list arguments against it.
You're not writing or typing what you believe are valid arguments against the idea; you're brainstorming what a listener might say in response to the Biblical truth. Imagine a teenager or a young mother who might struggle with the issue. Picture people who might sit in the congregation listening.
Using our example above, consider the following possible arguments against the truth. Sinful influences won't easily distract a godly man living for God.
Sinful influences won't easily distract a godly man living for God.
We'll clean up the above statement in a future part of our sermon design to make it pithy and memorable. At this point, it's a good idea to write it out in detail to give you a complete idea of your concept, which will help you brainstorm. List the possible objections. Consider these two.
- I won't get distracted because I've been a strong Christian for many years.
- Didn't Jesus tell us not to neglect lost people?
- I get easily distracted by sins. I can't stop ... (fill in the blank with any sins people might habitually commit).
Answering Arguments Against a Truth
You might think of other arguments against the truth. Let's consider an answer to one of the arguments listed above.
You're at a coffee shop with a friend. You discuss the concept found in verse one of Psalm 1. He looks at you thoughtfully, looks away, and then says, "I get distracted by sin all the time. I find it really hard to resist certain temptations."
We need to convince the person that they can walk with the Lord, and this helps us overcome temptations as we continue in the faith. Where would you find a convincing argument to help your friend trust that they can overcome sin if they do something new?
Is the Bible a Valuable Source for Argumentation?
We're tempted to rush to other passages that will prove our point. I immediately thought of a passage in 2 Peter 1 that says...
5- But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6- to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7- to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8- For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9-For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
2 Peter 1:5-9, NKJV
That passage might help someone who trusts God's word. When you first believe God can answer your problems, this kind of faith adds virtue. We progress from virtue to knowledge. You find great self-control when you learn about God's love, grace, and support through His Holy Spirit. That brings perseverance and less failure. The more perseverance you find, the more godliness you gain in your behavior, and you can better resist temptation. That leads to an abundance of fruit-bearing behavior.
However, this alone won't help the skeptic. Scripture is powerful, so use passages like this to support your argument. However, you will usually need more for an unbelieving person and even for Christians who don't yet submit willingly to the Word just because "God said it."
Other Sources for Argumentation in Sermon Development
You can find many sources for proof or argumentation in your sermon development. Statistics, examples, stories that show the truth applied effectively, and quotations from trusted people all help the preacher prove the truth.
For example, I used a Barna Research stat to prove that believers might not trust Scripture alone for proof in a sermon. I could strengthen my argument with an example of someone I knew who claimed to serve Christ but didn't believe some clear Biblical idea.
Returning to Psalm 1:1, we see that our friend at the coffee shop didn't agree that living for God can help them fight off the distractions of temptation. What if we used 1 Peter 1, an example or testimony from our own lives, and a quote from someone the person trusts? Together, with the conviction of the. Holy Spirit, might convince our friend.
Find Argumentation or Proof for Sermon Development in Bible Software
I use Logos Bible Software to study passages and topics found in those passages. You could open Logos Bible Software and run a Topic Guide from the Guides menu. Type the topic in the search box and wait while Logos returns content from your library. Look through the results to find some possible support material.
Logos Sale on Lexham Press Collections
You can now save 40% on the Logos Lexham Press Collections, which include their Master Collection, the NT or OT Collections, and their language suite of tools.
These can get pricey. However, you can also get something free..
Check out the free book of the month. It's Warfare in the Old Testament and John Chrysostom by Boyd Seevers.
These sales are good until the end of May 2024. You can find the latest deals on my affiliate page if you're reading this after that date.
Tools for Sermon Development in Logos Bible Software - Part 1 Explanation
Every good message includes 4 essential tools for Sermon Development. We look at Explanation and using Logos 10 to find out what a passage or topic means so we can explain it to our audience.
Every sermon should include four essential tools of Sermon Development. We looked at these in the last post here on this site as we study how to develop a sermon. Now, let’s look at how to use Logos Bible Software to explain a text. We’ll look at illustration, proof, and application in three other parts of this series on how to develop a sermon outline that we can transform into a great message.
If you read our previous post that defined each of the four essential aspects of Sermon Development, you know that one helps achieve the other three. An influential preacher uses many illustrations to explain his sermon's ideas. Illustrations show what we mean so the hearer can understand the passage.
Jesus Used Illustrations to Explain His Teaching
Read scripture, and you'll see Jesus used illustrations called Natural Analogies in his parables. He explained the concept of faith using the example of the Temple Mount and mustard seeds, two things his listeners would know about. You either have faith, or you don’t.
20- So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. 21- However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 17:20-21, NKJV
Jesus explained the concept of faith using the Natural Analogy of a mustard seed. We might want to make this point in a sermon on this passage.
Today, we talk about degrees of faith, from weak to strong. However, Jesus taught that faith is binary. You either have it or you don't. You believe, or you don't. A mustard seed is the smallest seed that people commonly saw in Jesus' day. He might have even had one to show the audience.
A Modern Example of an Illustration Used to Explain Faith in Sermon Development
Since people today don't often plant mustard seeds, we might use a different Natural Analogy that we commonly experience, like a slight switch.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov
The average homeowner controls her overhead lights with a binary light switch with only off and on positions. It’s unlike a dimmer switch, which turns a light on in degrees of light. You can slide the switch up to ten percent for a romantic evening, halfway for average use, or 100 percent when you’re looking for a lost earring.
Jesus didn’t have two kinds of light switches. He didn’t have any light switches. Instead, he used a mustard seed. You either have faith, or you don't. You can't get less than that tiny seed's worth of faith. If you have it, then you can do something extreme, like commanding the Temple Mount to hurl itself into the nearby Dead Sea. That would seem insane to those listening to him and modern audiences if the temple still existed. But he said, if you have as much as a mustard seed of faith, you could command such a thing, and the Temple Mount would obey. This assumes you're acting in God's will; He'd need to want the temple mount thrown into the sea by an ordinary person's command.
The mustard seed illustration explained Jesus’ teaching about the binary nature of faith. He used a real-world or natural analogy to accomplish this.
Exegetical Guide in Logos Bible Software for Sermon Development
When I first discovered Logos in version 3 almost 20 years ago, the Guides sold me on the value of the software. Enter your passage, and Logos finds all the tools or books in your library that refer to a passage or topic. You can do this with the Exegetical Guide and discover many language study tools to help you understand the passage. Then, you’re ready to explain these Biblical ideas to your audience.
To open the Exegetical Guide, use either the right-click menu or the Guides button on the toolbar when selecting your passage. See the screenshot below.
You'll see a list of the different sections in the Exegetical Guide. These include tools for language study.
The WORD BY WORD Section of the Exegetical Outline
I focus on using the WORD BY WORD section. It shows your passage in both Greek or Hebrew on the left and English on the right (see below). Click a word to jump to that word's entry in the section. Each word's section shows the Greek or Hebrew lemma, an icon that, when clicked, will pronounce the word, a transliteration, and a simple translation.
The second line shows the parsing info. On the third line, you get the Sense info, a kind of translation that shows how the text uses the word in context. After the Sense, you get a list of your lexicons, which displays a short translation. Click on any of the blue links to get more information.
For example, in our passage on Matthew 17:20-21, we see the word for seed in the WORD BY WORD section. You can click the blue link to open NTGED if you own it and read more about the word translated seed in The New Testament Greek English Dictionary from Gilbrant, Thoralf. 1991. The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary comes as part of The Complete Biblical Library. There you find under "New Testament Usage" the following:
In all of its New Testament occurrences kokkos is used figuratively. Even with faith the size of a small mustard seed, one can live a miraculous life.
Gilbrant, Thoralf. 1991. “Κόκκος.” In The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary. The Complete Biblical Library. WORDsearch.
The above might help you as you study and try to explain the idea of a mustard seed representing such an infinitesimal amount of faith to explain that you either have faith or don't have faith. If you have it, you can move mountains, like the Temple Mount, which eventually happened in 70 AD after Jesus made the temple sacrifice moot.
If you don't own the NTGED or the Complete Biblical Library, head over to Logos to get it (Affiliate Link).
Passage Guide in Logos Bible Software for Sermon Development
Like the Exegetical Guide, the Passage Guide starts by asking you to enter your passage. The Guide will then show you different kinds of content when compared to the Exegetical Guide. It focuses less on language study and more on references like Commentaries and other tools like Biblical People, Places, and Things or Sermons and Illustrations. Let’s take a look.
Follow the same procedure as opening the Exegetical Guide. Select the passage, right-click it, and choose the Reference on the left list of the popup and the Passage Guide on the right list. The Guide will open and search all of your books in the Passage Guide categories for the selected Reference.
Alternatively, open the Passage Guide from the Guides button on the toolbar of Logos 10 using the same steps above when opening the Exegetical Guide.
Using Search Results to Explain an Idea in Logos 10
Let's use our Matthew 17:20 example from above. With the Passage Guide open as instructed in the previous section, begin opening tools by clicking on them in the Guide. I prioritized the New American Commentary so the Matthew volume sits atop the list of commentaries near the top of the Passage Guide.
When you read the section on verses 19-20 you'll see the author of the commentary writes:
“Nothing will be impossible for you” must thus be interpreted as nothing Jesus has given you the authority to do, such as this exorcism.22 Obviously, many other things are impossible for believers—based on the limitations of their humanity and of God’s will. As v. 22 immediately makes plain, even Jesus’ own miracle-working abilities did not permit him to escape the cross despite repeated temptation to do precisely that.
Blomberg, Craig. 1992. Matthew. Vol. 22. The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
This helps us explain that faith is not like a blank check. We can use the ideas presented in the commentaries and then give an illustration of a blank check to help our listeners understand that godly, Biblical faith is not an unlimited promise to let us do anything we please outside God's plan.
You'll find other excellent lists of resources in the Passage Guide. Look at the Cross References section, which refers to Luke 17:6, the parable of the Mustard Seed, modified by Jesus to refer to the miraculous ability to transplant a mulberry tree. The Passage Guide also includes links to the Factbook. So you could head down to the Biblical Things section of our Passage Guide. There, you'll find links to images from the Factbook.
You will also find these sections in other Guides like the Sermon Starter Guide and Topic Guide.
Power Lookup to Learn What a Passage Means for Explanation in Sermon Development
Users often forget the Power Lookup tool, but it works like a kind of Guide to search for content on a selected text or word. Right-click on the Passage and either choose the Selection or Reference on the left side of the popup. Scroll down to the Lookup section on the right side of the popup. You'll find Power Lookup.
The Power Lookup window opens in a small section along the right side of the Logos screen. It includes links to and short previews of things like...
- Footnotes
- Bible passages
- Commentaries
- Language tools
The Power Lookup panel links to the Bible you have active and moves when you move to a new passage. This helps when studying longer passages.
Note that all links to Logos resources are Logos Affiliate Links. I will receive a small percentage of the price if you purchase them using my links.
New Logos Insights Sidebar with AI for Logos Pro Users
Logos released a new feature as part of the Logos Pro subscription service that uses AI to help you see information related to your passage. Here's how to use the new Logos Insights Toolbar in Logos Pro.
Everyone wants AI in their service, applications, mobile apps, and websites. Logos jumped on the bandwagon recently with new features, including the new Logos Insights Sidebar. Think of the Insights Sidebar as a simpler guide that shows you 3 things:
- Top books.
- AI translation of the text.
- AI-powered summary of the currently displayed content.
To get the new Logos Insights Sidebar, users must subscribe to Logos Pro, the new subscription service that gives users early access to new features. It costs $9.99/month and replaces Faithlife Connect, which did the same thing. Along with the Logos Insights Sidebar, you'll get the following:
- Smart Search with AI - You don't need complicated syntax search commands.
- AI Summaries of Content in Books - Tell Logos to summarize a Bible chapter, a book section, or other library content.
- Sermon Assistant - Find sermon illustrations or quotes using AI in Sermon Builder, a sermon editor in Logos 10.
In addition to the new Insights Sidebar and the three features listed above, you'll also get access to hundreds of books.
How to Use the New Logos Insights Sidebar on Desktop
Open a Bible or other book to use the new Logos Insights Sidebar. You'll see a button on the right end of the toolbar in that book's window (see screenshot below).
You'll see a new window that opens to the right of the book's window. It has three buttons on the toolbar.
- Translation - Translates the content in the book window from one language to another using AI Translation.
- Summarize - Gives the user a summary of the Bible chapter or the book article.
- Insights - This shows you three things: Related Books, a Commentary, and Related Passages.
The third button is new. Logos describes it as a simplified Passage Guide. You don't always need all of the features in the default Passage Guide. The Logos Insights Toolbar will give you just a few references to help you understand your passage. You can click on More>> to read the whole article.
Logos chooses what to show based on your prioritization. You'll get your highest prioritized study Bible or commentary. It also shows your top cross-reference tool.
The third section of the Insights Panel shows cross-references, such as the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. You'll get a quick cross-reference for the current verse. Click the book title at the bottom of the box to open it and show the full entry for that passage.
How to use the New Logos Insights Toolbar on the Web App
When you use the Logos Web app, there's no window to open. Instead, you'll see the three tabs on the main Bible toolbar. You still get the Translate, Summarize, and Insights buttons on the right side of the toolbar. After you click on the button, the Web app opens the new window.
The Logos Insights Toolbar button opens the same content in the new window, related books and related passages. It works the same as the Desktop version described above.
How to Choose Different References in the Logos Insights on Desktop and Web App
On your desktop, you can change the book in the related books section of Insights. Click on the down arrow next to the book title, and a list of books you can use instead will appear (see above). It looks different in the Web app (see below).
On the Web app, click on Change, and the drop-down menu shows books you can open to replace what's shown in the Insights window.
New Deals in Logos for April 2024
Logos users get steep discounts on upgrade packages with up to 25% off. For example, buy the Logos 10 Silver package and get 15% off. Get 20% off Gold or Platinum and 25% off Diamond or Portfolio. Use the affiliate link to get the deals, and make sure you see PARTNERDISCOUNT10 in the coupon code box.
If you'd like the Baptist upgrade packages, you can also save 15-20 percent.
6 Logos Word Study Tools to Explain Your Sermon Ideas
An experienced preacher highlights the importance of 6 Logos Word Study Tools for crafting sermons. These tools prevent the misinterpretation of biblical words by ensuring contextual analysis and multiple translations. The word study culminates in recording findings, reinforcing accurate biblical interpretation and engaging sermons.
In the early days of my preaching, I wish I knew the power of these 6 Logos Word Study Tools. They will captivate your congregation, injecting each sermon with a mixture of fascination, delight, and clarity to simplify the message of the Bible. Embrace these 6 word study tools, and your preaching will surpass my early efforts.
Here's the problem with inexperienced preachers studying key theological words in a text. The preacher often takes the words out of context by looking them up in a concordance. A word used one way in John might not fit the meaning of the context in 1 Corinthians or 2 Peter.
Search the word love in a concordance, and you'll find it everywhere in the Bible. However, the Hebrew and Greek understanding of the word differs. Greek has a few words for love that mean somewhat different things. You can't assume it means the same thing in all the verses that contain the word.
We have to protect against careless word studies, and the Logos word study tools below will help you avoid making mistakes as you use these 6 Word Study tools so you can explain the ideas in your sermon.
See at the end the latest deal from Logos Bible Software which can give you up to 25% off a new package, plus more.
Read and Reread Your Text in Context
As an expository preacher, I usually use one passage for my sermon. Other passages may help me explain, illustrate, or apply the primary text. Occasionally, a quoted verse might introduce proof that argues the point.
If you use one primary text, read that text in context. At the very least, read the entire chapter and probably the chapters before and after. If you're preaching from a narrative covering many chapters, read the entire story.
Next, read the passage again by itself. Note any ways the context affects the understanding of the text. Then, read the passage again in multiple translations. Avoid paraphrases at this point.
1. Rereading a Text Using Logos Text Comparison Tool
The first of the 6 Logos word study tools will present your text in a few to all of your Bible translations in one window. Open the Text Comparison tool and set with your favorite translations or all of your Bibles.
Click the Tools button on in your toolbar at the top or left (depending on your settings). Find the Text Comparison Tool in the Passage section of the Tools menu and click to open it.
You'll see the tab with the verse at the top of the Text Comparison Tool. Right of that notice some blue text underlined with abbreviations for your Bibles. It shows the Bibles displayed in the window. Click the listing of Bible translations to modify the chosen Bible translations.
The menu that pops up includes three sections. The top section shows your displayed texts, which you can check or uncheck to show or hide that Bible in the Text Comparison tool. The second section shows your saved collections of Bible texts. Click one to replace what's showing in the window. The third section lets you choose what to show in the window from different collections of books. To show all of your Bibles, click the Bibles Collection.
Shown in column formation instead of interlinear.
Customizing the Text Comparison Tool in Logos Word Study Tools
Logos offers three other customizations as follows:
-
- Show or Hide Differences between the Bible Translations.
-
- Show or Hide the Base Text in the text of the other Bible Translations with a strikethrough line through the base text.
Logos also lets users show the verses in interlinear mode. You can still see the differences between the words in strikethrough format and without.
2. Comparing Multiple Texts Using the Logos Passage Analysis Tool
Open the Passage Analysis Tool from the Tools menu. This includes a few visual Logos word study tools. You'll find it under the Passage section. In it you'll see the differences between various translations. This doesn't help you read a passage repeatedly, but it shows you how they differ so you can pay careful attention to those differences.
At the bottom of the window you find buttons showing the differences in various visual formats. Click each to try it out.
Take Note of Key Theological Terms and Look Them Up 4 Key Logos Word Study Tools - Concordance, Bible Dictionary, and Lexicon.
By now, you've read through the passage multiple times and know it pretty well. You might even have memorized it. Next, take note of the key terms in a verse. For example, let's look at Matthew 28:18 in the NKJV.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Matthew 28:18, NKJV
The words that stand out to me include...
-
- came
-
- spoke
-
- saying
-
- authority
-
- given
-
- heaven
-
- earth
Looking at the list, the words authority and given carry the primary meaning, while the others might offer less interpretive importance. It doesn't matter. Still, look them up the 4 Logos word study tools listed below, just in case.
A good word study includes looking them up in three different tools and possibly more.
-
- Concordance - search a concordance for an important term and see how the author of this book you're reading used it and how others used it. Be careful about jumping between the Old and New Testament.
-
- Lexicons - without using Bible software, you'll need some language skill to look up words in a lexicon. You'll need a Hebrew Old Testament and/or a Greek New Testament. Find the word in a Hebrew or Greek Lexicon. We'll show you how to do this in Logos below under number three.
-
- Bible Dictionary - look up the English term in a Bible dictionary and note what might apply to your verse.
-
- Atlas - geographical terms should show up in a good Bible atlas.
Remember that not all you find in the reference tools above will apply to your passage. English speakers use the word cool in a number of different ways. The Fonz was cool, but so is today's temperature, and a pitcher in the baseball game who doesn't get rattled. You wouldn't make a point about how The Fonz was cool so he wore a jacket to keep warm. Be careful about doing the same thing with Bible reference books.
3. Bible Word Studies in Logos Word Study Tools: Letting Logos Look Things Up
The Exegetical Guide in Logos runs a specialized search for hits in books in your library for content related to words in Greek or Hebrew. Open your Bible to your passage and select a verse. Right-click it and select Reference on the left of the pop up list. Then scroll down to the Exegetical Guide in the list onto the right of the pop up menu and click it.
The Exegetical Guide on your text shows a list of language tools including the WORD BY WORD section. Open it and you'll see your favorite translation name. Click it to open the Bible to the verse. Next, you'll see the verse in Greek or Hebrew on the left near the top. The English verse shows up on the right next to it. Then, each main word shows up below with some important information, including...
-
- The word in the original language and an English transliteration.
-
- The word in the verse's context is on the same line as the word in Hebrew/Greek and Transliterated.
-
- A circle that you can click to run a Bible Word Study on that word.
-
- The Greek or Hebrew word again with an audio icon which you can click to hear the word pronounced.
-
- A simple English translation of the word.
-
- The morphological information which you can click to open a definition of that info or hover over it to see a pop up.
-
- List of your top lexicons and the option to see more by clicking More.
-
- You can add notes to each word too.
Any text in blue is a hyperlink that you an click to open or hover over. Read about words, tenses, etc. Open these to read more and learn about the various words in your passage. Keep records in the notes you can add to each word or the current Guide. However, I prefer to add a note to the verse itself instead of the Guides. You can easily find this study info each time you open that verse.
Other Logos Word Study Tools in the Exegetical Guide
You can find other tools in the default Exegetical Guide as follows:
-
- Your Content - shows things like notebooks you've created about this passage.
-
- Textual Variants - shows info from your library related to textual criticism.
-
- Word By Word - described above.
-
- Grammatical Constructions - shows grammar items that affect this passage's meaning
-
- Important Word - lists keywords from your text and shows links to run a Bible Word Study.
-
- Lemma in Passage - like the Important Word list, but shows the lemma instead of the exact word in the text.
-
- Important Passages - runs a report of cross-references related to your passage.
-
- Ancient Literature - shows entries about the passage in ancient literature, like Church Fathers, the Works of Josephus, Apocrypha, and more.
-
- Commentaries - show your passage in all of your commentaries.
-
- Journals - shows your passage in all of your Journals.
-
- Grammars - shows morphology in grammar books for words in your passage to help you understand things like tenses, moods, and more.
-
- Visualizations - shows links to your passage in different Visualizations like Diagrams or Outlines.
4. Find Words in the Factbook
The Factbook finds your keywords and searches for key information to help you understand the definition, sense, and meaning of English, Greek, and Hebrew words.
To find the word in your Factbook, open the Factbook and type in the word. Find it more easily through the right-click menu. Right-click on a word, and you'll see the menu with two columns. Along the left, click on the word in Greek or Hebrew. You can click the word as it appears in the text or the lemma. Look down to find the English word with Factbook icons next to it. Click on that word as seen in the screenshot above. Then, on the right side of the right-click menu, click on Factbook. Logos opens the Factbook to that word and gives you many search results tagged for the Factbook.
5. Open the Logos Explorer
The Logos Explorer window shows important content based on the passage currently shown in your open Bible. Open Explorer from the Tools menu along the top or left of the Logos windows. You'll find it under the Passage section.
The Bible Explorer window shows you a lot of context based on the text in your Bible window. Turn on the Link Set by clicking on the three vertical dot icon in the upper right corner of the Explorer window. Choose a letter and then do the same in the Bible window's three vertical dot icon. Choose the same letter in the Link Set.
The Explorer includes information from the Factbook, Media, Cross References, and Commentaries. At this point, avoid the commentaries, since those will come with interpretation biases from the author. You want to let the Bible speak for itself as you ask the Holy Spirit to interpret the text through your own reading and research.
6. Add a Verse Note to Record Findings From the Logos Word Study Tools
Here's a great tip for keeping your info for current and future study. Add a note to your passage. I prefer to do this through the right-click menu as well. After you right-click in your passage, you can add a verse by selecting the verse reference in the left column of the menu. Select Add note from the right column. If you prefer you can instead add the note to a specific notebook. You'll see the most recently opened books listed under the Add note section.
Users can also record their findings by adding a new note using the New note button in the Notes window. The button will add a new anchored to the reference that's currently the focus in the main Bible window. If you would prefer to add a note that's not tied to the current verse, then click the down arrow and choose New note, the first item in the drop down list.
The other two items on the list let you add a new note to a reference, which the New note button itself also does, as shown above. You can also add a highlight to the verse.
The Latest Logos Bible Software Deals
First, you can save up to 25% on a new Logos 10 Package. Buy the Logos 10 Diamond, you'll get 25% off.
Top 5 Logos March Matchups Deals Worth Buying Now
In basketball, March Madness will kick off soon, but in Logos Bible Software, the Logos March Matchups 2024 deals are live now—all of them! Logos users picked their favorites from dozens of options, and it came down to two options. The user crowned one of them the champ, and you get the winnings in big discounts.
I've got all the available deals, but I recommend these top 5 Logos March Matchups Deals for 2024. Check them out. Some of them are what Logos calls Hall of Fame titles. That means they were not part of the March Matchups, but you still get steep discounts because users picked them in previous years. Comment below to tell me which deal you buy and which you'd like to get. Now for the Top 5, in my opinion.
Take a look at the bottom of this post for other steep discounts on the Logos version of March Madness.
New International Commentary on the Old and New Testament
Logos currently charges $1,824.99 for NICOT and NICNT at their regular price. However, you can get them for $1,094.99. That's a great deal for the complete set covering the Old and New Testaments. Take a look at Best Commentaries, a site that ranks commentaries for users, and you'll see that this series boasts more volumes ranked first or second for each book of the Bible. I counted almost 30 volumes listed first or second. Many others rank third or fourth.
This commentary series offers scholarly discussion of each text and book in the Bible. It also adheres to Scripture as the infallible Word of God so you can trust it.
NIV Application Commentary Series
Get the NIVAC for $600 off the regular price of $1,199.99 during this sale. You'll love the way it's laid out. You get scholarly discussions of the text and some wonderful applications to modern life, hence the series title.
Like NICOT and NICNT, the NIV Application Commentary series put many books in the top two for each book of the Bible. Best Commentaries ranks 28 volumes in the top 5, mostly in the Old Testament.
New American Commentary Series
The New American Commentary, or NAC, strikes a wonderful balance between academic discussion of the text and accessible understanding for most people who teach or preach the Bible. I rank this commentary first in my list of Logos Bible Software commentaries and in other programs, too.
Lovers of this series feel frustrated that we still can't get Ephesians or the Psalm 1-72 volume. Ephesians supposedly ships on November 1, 2024, and the Psalm 1-72 volume hopefully comes out before Christ's return. Or should I say that I hope Christ returns before it comes out?
According to a person on the Logos Bible Forums, the author said he'd get it to the publisher by December 1, 2023, and it would come out in "late 2024."
Logos will sell you the NAC for only $439.99, a nice discount off their regular price of $1,117.57. That's a good deal!
Best Commentaries doesn't rank as many NAC titles in the top 5 in the New Testament, but most OT books come near the top of their list. Some of the NT books should rank higher because they're excellent.
Anchor Yale Bible Commentary
The Anchor Yale Bible Commentary costs a whopping $4,257.12 at regular price, but you can save a lot with this great discount and get it for $1,437.76. Because of the huge discount alone, I've included it.
It's always a good idea to have a commentary that challenges thinking in your library. If you're an evangelical conservative like me, then this set will do that. It's very good, so long as you know you must spot the non-conservative thinking. The publisher relied on Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholars to write this collection.
Christ Centered Exposition Commentary Series Collection
While Anchor might challenge you theologically and with its technical scholarly approach, the Christ Centered Exposition Commentary Series Collection reads like a collection of sermons on each book in the set. You could read it devotionally for your own benefit or use it to prepare sermons. Either way, it's worth the $195.59 price, which saves you over $200 off the regular price.
Other Great Deals on Logos March Matchups
Now that March Madness will heat up, Logos March Matchups just crowned its 2024 champion. Here's the rest of the top deals available this year.
- Baker Commentary on the OT - The Big Winner!
- Pillar New Testament Commentary - Runner-Up in the Final March Matchups Tournament!
- Evangelical Exegetical Commentary.
- Lexham Geographic Commentaries.
- Tyndale Commentaries Old and New Testament.
- Lexham Research Commentaries.
- The Story of God Bible Commentary
Find all the other deals by using my affiliate link. This will help me with the costs of keeping my site ad-free.
4 Exciting Tools in Logos Bible Software to Find Great Sermon Illustrations
We teach you how to use 4 exciting tools in Logos 10 to discover great sermon illustrations. They will help you paint pictures with words.
Logos Bible Software includes many valuable tools to help preachers find sermon illustrations as they write sermon outlines. Good sermon development always includes sermon illustrations, which the preacher can use to explain the text, prove its truthfulness, and then apply the text to the lives of their audience. So, we'll look at 4 useful tools in Logos to help you find good sermon illustrations.
For those who don't already own Logos 10, head over to my affiliate link and order one of the great packages, which include the tools you read about below. I recommend getting Logos Gold or higher to get the most bang for your buck.
4 Tools in Logos Bible Software to Help Find Great Sermon Illustrations
Let's look at the list of XX tools you can use in Logos Bible Software to find great sermon illustrations, and then we'll examine each one more fully.
Click the list item above to jump directly to the section that focuses on that tool, or just read about them in order below.
1. Factbook Collects Many Tools in One
Users can open many of the tools in the list above directly, but the Factbook will put them in one window with links to open them to your topic, passage, idea, person, place, or thing. That's the benefit of Factbook; it puts everything in one place. So, let's look at what tools you'll find.
In our previous posts on the 4 Essential Tools for Sermon Development, we looked at the passage about faith. Jesus uses the illustration of a mustard seed to show the binary nature of faith. You either have faith, or you don't. That's the point of the tiny seed used in Jesus' illustration. Modern science can measure the volume of a mustard seed, but most in 1st-century Israel would conceive of measuring a mustard seed's volume.
We open the Factbook from the Logos 10 toolbar (see above). Then, type an idea you want to illustrate in the search box. Hit enter, and the Factbook shows all it can find in the Factbook search tools. Some of the things you'll find in the Factbook include...
- Key Article - Each Factbook idea comes with a Key Article, often from a Bible Dictionary. Faith's Key Article is the entry for Faith from the Lexham Bible Dictionary.
- Further Reading - You'll see articles about your topic from other books or resources. For example, "Faith" shows the Lexham Theological Wordbook article.
- Media - the Factbook finds media related to your search, like videos or graphics.
- Key Passages - think of a cross-reference tool finding all the instances of your topic in the Bible with Key Passages and then a See Also section with other passages. They all appear as links you can hover over or click to open.
- Biblical Senses - if you search for a word with an original language like faith and the Greek word pistils (transliteration of the Greek term sometimes translated faith) that is translated as your word, then the Factbook lists Biblical Senses, which show the kind of word and the basic usage in Scripture.
- Dictionaries - articles from your dictionaries covering your topic or word.
- Journals - a search of your journals related to the topic or word.
- Sermons - sermons about your topic that may include great Sermon Illustrations.
- Preaching Resources - mostly sermon illustration databases.
- Biblical Events - you can discover places related to your passage or subject. This might not help us with faith.
- Biblical Books - maybe you're studying a book and want information about the book, the author, and the book's audience.
- Theological Topic - find information in your library about a topic like faith.
- Greek and Hebrew Words - some original language terms come with "word pictures," which help us understand a topic or an idea because the word etymology illustrates the concept concretely.
- Other Books from Your Library - a broad search for your word in your library.
- Factbook Tags - other books with Factbook tags related to your topic.
- Logos Store Links - links to buy books related to your search.
- Other Tools and Links - links to run one of the Guides on your topic or word.
The results listed in a Factbook search differ depending on what you search for.
How to Make Use of the Factbook Results
Some of the above will offer more fruitful results when looking for Sermon Illustrations. For example, Preaching Resources seems like a great way to find illustrations. However, Sermon Illustration Databases often include stale or boring illustrations that modern listeners can't relate to.
I took an illustration from these collections and researched online to learn more. For example, a search for faith shows an entry in the book 1000 Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching. We read about a man named Stewart Alsop who had leukemia. If you search for him and his book mentioned in the illustration database, you can find and read it. You can also read the Wikipedia page about him. Search Google or select the title and author name in the article, right-click, and choose Selection on the left part of the menu and Wikipedia on the right. As a result, this might give you better context about him and help you craft a more effective illustration of the concept of faith.
Other tools in the list above contain great information that you can use to explain your idea and illustrate it to appeal to the mind and the imagination. You'll even find media to display if you use a multimedia system in your worship or teaching environment. Key Passages will take you to cross references where you can let the Bible illustrate your concept. Share an example of faith from the life of someone like Abraham, who, in Genesis 12, was called to leave his home and wasn't told where he was going.
You'll find more images and videos with different searches. Faith is more of a concept than a person, place, or thing. If I'm preaching from the story of Moses in the book of Exodus, I can find media showing plagues, maps of Egypt, or the Israelites' exit. Make sure you also look for Factbook icons in the text of your Bible passage. The above screenshot shows three icons related to Pharaoh and two for the Egyptians.
2. Use Logos Guides to find Great Sermon Illustrations
The Factbook shows a lot of cool content. However, the Logos Guides give us similar results. Find content related to a passage, a topic, a specific word, counseling issues, or theological topics. Logos includes the following Guides...
- Exegetical Guide - for language study of a passage.
- Passage Guide - seeks a wide range of content based on a passage.
- Topical Guide - search your library for a Topic.
- Sermon Starter Guide - takes the Guide concept and finds content to help you prepare a sermon.
- Bible Word Study Guide - like the Exegetical Guide, but focuses on one Biblical word.
- Counseling Guide - focuses on counseling issues.
The Passage Guide, Topical Guide, and Sermon Starter Guide offer the best hope for finding great sermon illustrations. You can open these Guides from the Guides button on the toolbar. The most recently used items will appear at the top, but all of them will appear in the menu's Guides section. Also, each guide will let you search for one part of that guide. Scroll down to the Guide name in the menu and click it to show the sections of the Guides. Click on one, like the
To find some of the Guides, open to your passage and right-click on it. Click on Reference in the left part of the menu and then click on the Guide in the right. You'll see Passage Guide near the top, but if you scroll down on the right, you'll also see things like Sermon Illustrations and a few more Guides further down the list.
Using the right-click method, you can also search for a word or phrase in a passage. Instead of clicking Reference in the right-click menu, choose Selection. You'll find Guides on the right side of the menu. If you search a word you'll find the Bible Word Study Guide at the top and other Guides as you scroll down.
You'll find a wealth of potential Sermon Illustrations in the resulting search.
3. Sermon Builder and New AI Sermon Assistant
The Sermon Builder came with Sermon Illustration tools for a while. Logos added a new feature that uses artificial intelligence to overcome sermon writer's block. This new AI-powered tool requires a subscription to Logos Pro, which costs $9.95 and gives early access to new features like this new Sermon Assistant. See their official description of the Sermon Assistant in the Logos Community Forums.
Open a sermon you're already editing. Click on the Sermon Assistant button in the box's toolbar on the right of your sermon text. Next, choose Illustrations under Sermon and type an idea into the Idea box. You can also copy from the sermon and paste it here. Click Generate, and you'll see the resulting Sermon Illustration ideas. (see screenshot above).
If you like the illustration shown in the search results, hit the Insert or the Copy button. Insert places where your insertion point sits in the sermon text. Copy places it on the clipboard, letting you move the insertion point and paste it manually.
Next to the Sermon Assistant button, you'll see a Quotation icon. Click it to open the Popular Quotes tool, which works like the Sermon Assistant. It finds quotes from your library related to what you type into the box on that screen.
4. Don't Overlook Your Interactive Media and Your Library of Books
The above tools will help you find sermon illustrations, but some people overlook their books and features in Logos. For example, I'm going to do a demonstration of the Passover Seder for two churches in my Association of churches. I own the Rose Guide to the Feasts, Festivals and Fasts of the Bible. Under the Passover section, an excellent graphic shows the Seder Plate with descriptions of each item. This visual illustration will help me teach this feast.
To find these illustrations, search in one of the Guides as described above or open one of your dictionaries, a lexicon, or study Bibles, which often include charts, graphs, maps, or images.
Here's a list of books or features that include images useful to illustrate ideas or sermon points:
- Dictionary
- Encyclopedia
- Study Bibles
- Sermon Collections
- Media Collections
- Handbooks
- Atlas
- Illustration Books
- Bible Backgrounds (IVP, Zondervan, etc)
How Do You Find Great Sermon Illustrations?
How do you use Logos to find Sermon Illustrations? Please comment below to help out the community. I'll edit this article and cite you. If you know of a good YouTube video covering this how-to, share the link, and I'll take a look and update the article with the best videos, too.
Sermon Illustrations and the 4 Essential Tools for Sermon Development - Part 2
In sermon development, 4 essential tools include Explanation, Illustrations, Proof or Argumentation, and Application. Sermon Illustrations help with all four. We look at them and how to use them in a powerful way.
Sermon Illustrations serve the other three essential tools for Sermon Development, which we covered in the introductory post about these 4 tools. To summarize, the 4 tools include...
- Explanation
- Sermon Illustrations
- Proof or Argumentation
- Application
See Sermon Development Always Includes These Four Essentials.
When I explain a concept in my sermons, I usually do so, at least in part, using sermon illustrations. The same is true for proving ideas and applying them. For example, in the text we looked at in the 2nd article in this series, we found that Jesus said that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can command mountains to move into the sea.
How to Use Sermon Illustrations to Explain Ideas in a Sermon
The concept of a mustard seed of faith is not about a small volume of faith, but instead, Jesus means that if you have any faith, even the smallest volume of faith possible, then you have faith. In other words, faith is binary.
We then used the concept of a light switch, not a dimmer switch, to illustrate this binary aspect of faith. This natural analogy shows what Jesus meant in real-world examples.
Natural analogies are relationships, circumstances, events, or other factors observed in the natural dimension that may serve as parallel images for theological concepts. These are analogous, having points of likeness that make them useful in better understanding, visualizing, accepting, and practicing biblical concepts. They are natural, a familiar part of human experience.
McDill, Wayne. 2006. 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching: Second Edition, Revised and Expanded. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group.
A preacher might state this concept like this:
Any amount of faith is all the faith you need for God to work in your life.
Possible Statement or Sermon Point about Faith from Matthew 17:20
A preacher may compare faith to a light switch: on or off. Jesus taught that faith isn't like a dimmer switch for lights. Having a little faith brings a little blessing while having a lot brings more. The idea of faith as small as a mustard seed disproves the notion of varying degrees of faith.
The Power of Multisensory Sermon Illustrations
Let's look at the power of using sermon illustrations to explain, prove, and apply ideas in a sermon. We use illustrations to visualize the ideas we present. The above illustration, a light switch versus a dimmer switch, visualizes the concept of faith in a way that modern listeners understand. We all use light switches, and most know about dimmers.
We experience our world using the five senses.
- Hearing/Sound
- Sight/Seeing
- Touch
- Smell
- Taste
When we experience the senses above, we remember the things at the top of the list less than the sensual experiences at the bottom. The progression gets stronger the lower we go.
We also remember things more when we experience something using two or more senses. For example, hearing an idea and seeing an image that illustrates that idea on a screen reinforces the idea in the listener's memory. Add one of the other senses, and the audience's memory increases exponentially.
We can communicate more effectively by developing sermon illustrations that use more than one of the five senses.
Examples of Multisensory Sermon Illustrations
Let's use our natural analogy of a light switch versus a dimmer to illustrate the nature of faith in Jesus' teaching in the Parable of the Mustard Seed. If a preacher tells a story about installing a dimmer switch, it impacts memory more than just discussing the devices in the abstract. Showing the effects of the light switch versus the dimmer switch in a video adds to the experience. Now, if the preacher brings one of each kind of switch attached to a piece of wood with a battery-powered light bulb that he can use to show the congregation and let them try it themselves, it will create a more memorable experience.
In a recent sermon on Matthew 28:18-20, I illustrated the power we experience when we understand that Jesus' authority, discussed in verse 18, gives us our power to make disciples. I brought an extension cord into the pulpit and discussed wanting to plug in my phone and charge it. However, without plugging it into the wall, the electricity won't flow. I then plugged the plug into the other end of the extension cord. That clearly won't work; everyone knew it before I said so. However, plugging the cord into the wall and my phone into the other end will let the juice flow. The sound on my iPhone loudly played so people could hear the chime that indicated the cord charged my phone.
Please see 7 Great Sources for Sermon Illustrations.
A Few Warnings About Using Multisensory Sermon Illustrations
Consider the following when using multisensory sermon illustrations...
- When using visuals, text is the least effective. Consider using images with short phrases instead of your sermon outline.
- Show a quotation and read it unless it's a long quote. Then, consider just showing the most impactful phrases from the quote.
- Don't use more than 6-10 words per slide.
- If you absolutely must use text, consider emphasizing ideas with text formatting, like larger fonts, font colors, and clear fonts that aren't full of frilly decoration like script fonts.
- Don't overuse taste, touch, and smell, or you lessen their impact. People can come to expect cute children's-sermon-style object lessons and they can distract from the message itself if the preacher wears them out.
Those are just a few warnings that can help you better use visuals and the less-used senses of taste, touch, and smell.
In our next article, we'll use Logos Bible Software to develop good sermon illustrations to explain, visualize, prove, and apply your sermons.
Sermon Development Always Include These Four Essentials
Effective preachers will also include these four sermon development strategies to help their hearers understand, believe, and apply the text.
I don’t care how entertaining, interesting, or exciting your sermon seems to your audience. You fail your congregation if you don’t include these four essential elements in your sermon development. They are essentials because you have to include them. Can I make it any clearer? You have to do these four things!! They help you learn how to develop a sermon outline effectively.
What four elements should you include in your sermon development, regardless of what kind of sermon you preach? Developing an idea means making it understandable, memorable, and visible. Then, the truth needs to be doable. So, we explain, illustrate, and prove an idea. Finally, we show them how they can apply the truth by doing something, believing something, or understanding something.
Why are these so important to call them essential? A listener must understand what the preacher means and where the scripture says what the preacher said. Then, if I don’t see it, regardless of how much you explain it, the idea won’t come to life and plant itself in the audience's memory.
Not every listener will believe a statement just because they understand it and see it in scripture and they see examples. However, the more concrete the preacher makes their idea, the more the listener will believe it. Eventually, he must prove it’s true for a skeptical listener to accept and live the truth. If they do, we need to help them understand how they can live the truth.
Sermon Development Includes Clear Explanation
There’s a reason why “plain” is at the heart of Explanation. Not really, but that’s one way to think about it. When you state a truth, you must explain what it means. This becomes more important when using creative sermon ideas or sermon points. It’s best to avoid cutesy or gimmicky sermon points if they make things less clear and require you to spend extra time explaining the statement.
Please see part 1 of this series on Explanation.
To explain an idea, you need to make it clear or plain. What does it mean to say, “Discipleship is the heart of growth in Christ?” What do you mean by discipleship, heart, and growth?
The heart could mean something that pumps blood throughout the body. It illustrates driving growth and giving life to your spiritual existence. But most of us would likely mean that it’s central to our spiritual existence, like the heart sitting at the center of the body and circulatory system.
In a recent sermon, I said, “Jesus Empowers Us to Fulfill Our Purpose,” from Matthew 28:18, where Jesus said, “All authority is given to me in heaven and on earth.” Jesus empowers us thanks to his authority. He gave us the proper authority to go and make disciples and teach them.
An Example of Explanation
My sermon answered, “Why did God leave us behind after saving our souls?" We make disciples and stay in communion with Jesus until he returns, or we go to Him in death (v. 20).
To effectively clarify a spiritual truth like the one from my sermon on the Great Commission, the preacher should explain each part of the idea that a listener could misunderstand without it. What do we mean by empowering us? How does empowering us aid in fulfilling our purpose? If the sermon hasn't explained that the Great Commission is part of our purpose, we must do so now.
One tool a preacher reaches for when explaining ideas is natural analogies. These are real-world things that make abstract ideas clearer. We also call these sermon illustrations. So, let's look at that category of sermon development.
Sermon Development Includes Illustration
We've all seen or even used one of those books of stale old sermon illustrations. Back in the nineties, I used a program on my computer that collected sermon illustrations in a database. The illustrations in those books or that program often told stories of 19th-century missionaries or historical figures from the Civil War or Revolutionary War. They were boring and out of date.
Your life and experience provide the best source for natural analogies or sermon illustrations.
Photo by Kenaz Nepomuceno on Pexels.com
A sermon illustration includes anything that one can visualize. Illustrations in books show what the words say. A human anatomy book might illustrate how blood flows through the heart and to the extremities. A book about auto repair will show the proper fuel pump installation on a 2017 Honda Ridgeline.
A sermon illustration aims at the imagination. It shows what an idea looks like. It tells a story about how to live a life of kindness by telling how a friend showed the preacher kindness even though he didn't deserve it. The hearer can see how they might apply this truth, or they can see what the preacher means by kindness.
Illustrations will explain an idea, showing what it means. This clarifies the idea and gives examples of how to live out an idea by applying it. In other words, an illustration can explain, prove, and apply the truth.
Examples of What Many Call Sermon Illustrations
Before we move on to the sermon development element we call proof, let's look at an example of what is not a sermon illustration.
Too many of those sermon illustration websites, books, or databases include quotes by famous Christians or historical figures. Unless that quote includes a natural analogy or a story that shows us something, it isn't a sermon illustration. It might explain, prove, or apply an idea, but quotes are not illustrations unless they appeal to the imagination.
Illustrations can effectively prove ideas. So, what do we mean by proof?
Sermon Development Includes Proof
If explanation appeals to the mind and illustration appeals to the imagination, then proof appeals to the will. We explain by answering, "What does it mean?" We illustrate by answering, "What does it look like?" We prove a truth by answering, "Is this true?"
Image = hardcover and link = Logos Bible Software link.
Haddon Robinson wrote in Biblical Preaching, my favorite text on Expository Preaching:
An initial response of those of us who take the Scriptures seriously is to ignore this question. We assume that an idea should be accepted as true because it comes from the Bible. That is not necessarily a valid assumption. We may need to gain psychological acceptance in our hearers through reasoning, proofs, or illustrations. Even the inspired writers of the New Testament (all of whom believed that the Old Testament was a God-breathed witness) sometimes established the validity of their statements, not only by quoting the Old Testament but by referring to common life as well.
(Robinson, Haddon W. 2001. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. p. 80)
Strategies for Proof
Some effective strategies for proving a truth include:
- Illustrations that show how an event validated the truth in someone's life.
- Quotations from a trusted source that the hearers would believe.
- Statistics, facts, and figures.
- Logical arguments, which philosophers interestingly call proofs.
- Appeal to "a prior" knowledge, which means using ideas we all assume are true.
Most preachers will assume a truth that comes directly from scripture carries enough weight that it should not need proof. "The Bible says it, that settles it." However, if a church does a good job of appealing to non-believers, then a preacher might address people who don't believe the Bible is necessarily true. Also, believers might struggle to maintain their faith in the authority of the Bible. These people need proof! A modern preacher will appeal to Scripture and rely on the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, but will also appeal to the above kinds of proof to bring people to the point of trusting Scripture.
Once the hearer understands what we mean, can see what it looks like, and understands that the ideas are true, then we need to help them see and understand how to live what the Bible says.
Sermon Development Includes Practical Application
One preaching professor said, "If you don't apply the text, you didn't really preach it." I fully agree with this.
Imagine you take your car to a mechanic and he diagnoses the problem. You need to replace the fuel pump. The mechanic explains that the car won't run properly without a new fuel pump. He convinces you with a fantastic argument proving the need for a new pump. Then, the mechanic explains what the fuel pump does and what fixing it would do for the engine. He convinced you, and you're ready to swipe your credit card.
If you don't apply the text, you didn't really preach it.
Unknown Preaching Professor
The mechanic then turned around and walked away, saying, "Thanks for stopping by."
What do you do now? He never explained how you could get the fuel pump fixed or what it would cost. You can't fix it without direct application from the mechanic.
A sermon must also include application for the same reason. If the listener doesn't know what to do now, then you failed in the preaching task. "You didn't really preach."
Examples of Practical Application in Sermon Development
Sermons always include clear, concrete examples of how to apply the truth of the text. My sermon on The Great Commission from Matthew 28:18-20 ended with four ways the listener could apply the text. I told them to begin praying for one person they knew needed to hear the Gospel. Second, I suggested they learn how to share the Gospel. Third, I offered a tool called Life on Mission, an app that takes a person through the Gospel and invites the person to trust Jesus for salvation and forgiveness. You can also buy the book that shows how to present the 3 Circles Gospel Presentation (affiliate link at Amazon). Finally, I suggested that they ask the Lord to give them a chance to be a witness to their friend, not by inviting them to church, but by inviting them to trust Jesus.
Application can take on multiple forms including doing something. That's the most common form of Application as Sermon Development. You ask the congregation to do something based on the message you preach.
Application also means believing something. Sometimes, the passage simply asks us to believe something about God or his Kingdom.
Finally, some sermons ask us to understand something that we need to understand to change our behavior, character, or beliefs.
3 Great Logos Bible Software Deals You Should Buy
Here are 3 great Logos Bible Software deals that you can get now and save a lot of money. Find out how to gets free books and deeply discounted books, commentaries, and collections for Logos.
You know that I use Logos Bible Software for most of my Bible study needs. As a result, I'm happy to recommend these 3 great Logos Bible Software deals on some excellent books, collections, and upgrades to Logos 10 or even Logos 9 if you haven't updated to the new Logos 10 version.
Logos Bible Software Deals on Logos 9 Legacy Libraries
The first of our Logos Bible Software deals lets you update your collection of resources with Logos 9 Legacy Libraries. A legacy library includes books like the CSB Study Bible, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, and Theological Diction of the New Testament. Not only will the Logos 9 Legacy Libraries cost as little as $35, but also you can get a huge collection for thousands of dollars. Here's a recommendation:
- Get the Logos 9 Gold Legacy Library which includes excellent resources like...
- Pillar NT Commentary
- Baker Sermon Outlines Collection
- Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary
- Cornerstone Biblical Commentary
- John Piper's Sermon Archive
- Take a look at your denomination's library
- Baptist
- Lutheran
- Messianic
- Anglican
- Methodist/Wesleyan
- Pentecostal
- Orthodox
- Reformed
- Verbum (Catholic)
Free Book of the Month and Other Sharply Discounted Books
The free book for June comes from R. C. Sproul. Get The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World for free. This book covers the "influential philosophies" from impactful minds in theology, education, arts, and more. Each of the 14 chapters covers a different philosopher or group of philosophers.
Sproul explained why we need to study Philosophy with the following quote:
Philosophy forces us to think foundationally. By foundational I mean first principles or basic truths. Most ideas that shape our lives are accepted (at least initially) somewhat uncritically. We do not create a world or environment from scratch and then live in it. Rather we step into a world and culture that already exists, and we learn to interact with it.
R. C. Sproul, The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World
Likewise, the other books available for steep discounts include:
- Kingdom Race Theology: God's Answer to Our Racial Crisis by Tony Evans
- The Sabbath as Rest and Hope for the People of God (Short Studies in Biblical Theology) by Guy Prentiss Waters
- The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul by Andrew J. Schmutzer and David M. Howard Jr.
- Understanding and Applying the Bible by Robertson McQuilkin
- A Merciful and Faithful High Priest: Studies in the Book of Hebrews by Martin Lloyd-Jones
- The Heart in Pilgrimage: A Treasury of Classic Devotionals on the Christian Life by Leland Ryken et. al.
- Creative Bible Teaching by Lawrence Richards and Gary Bredfeldt
- A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised by Miles Van Pelt
- The New Moody Atlas of the Bible by Barry J. Beitzel
- Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique by J. P. Moreland, Stephen C. Meyer, Christopher Shaw, Ann Gauger, Wayne Grudem
- Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives by Guy Waters, J. Nicholas Reid, John R. Muether
- Unlocking the Bible Story (4 vols.) by Colin Smith
- The Holy Spirit: The Helper (The Complete Works of John Owen, vol. 7) by John Owen, Andrew S. Ballitch (PREORDER)
Publisher Spotlight: Eerdmans Collections
You can get deals on Eerdmans books. Specifically, the publisher offers 40% off the New International Commentary of the Old and New Testament, a great series with many volumes listed in Best Commentaries. More than 20 of the OT volumes are ranked in the top 5 while all but 4 of the NT volumes show up in the top 5. Amazingly, this collection retails from Logos for nearly $1,800 but will cost you only $1,061.99 with this sale offering 40% off. If you own any single volumes dynamic pricing will reduce the price.
You can also get several collections in the Old Testament, Soren Kierkegaard, Theological Dictionary of the Old and New Testament, the Pauline Collection of commentaries, and dated collections from the last several years.
How Make Logos Work Like Wordsearch ZipScript
What is ZipScript and why do Wordsearch users love it so much that they're begging Logos and Faithlife to recreate it in Logos?
When Faithlife, the makers of Logos Bible Software, bought Wordsearch, they shut down the program making ZipScript, a favorite feature, unavailable to people who can no longer install Wordsearch. Since you can't install Wordsearch anymore, you'll lose access when you get a new computer or must erase and reinstall your Windows operating system. But we want to help you get similar functionality out of Logos.
What is ZipScript, and Why Do Wordsearch Users Love It?
The ZipScript utility ran separately from Wordsearch Bible Software. Wordsearch installed ZipScript, and let users open the utility and enter a Bible passage. The quick little system tray app would let you copy and paste the verse anywhere without opening Wordsearch.
Users could copy and paste Wordsearch Bibles to computer programs like Word documents, presentation apps, or notes. It didn't take up a lot of system resources and gave users access to a tool to copy and paste Bible passages almost anywhere.
Bible students loved ZipScript because it was small, efficient, and useful. Logos ships with a similar feature but is not as small and efficient as ZipScript. You can't run it separately from Logos as you could with ZipScript.
Why Won't Faithlife Likely Make a ZipScript for Logos?
When Faithlife first bought Wordsearch, I wrote an article about how to make Logos work like Wordsearch. I briefly mentioned ZipScript and Copy Bible Verses.
The Logos Community Forums contain multiple posts from Wordsearch users who came to Logos when Faithlife bought the company. That's probably the primary reason Faithlife bought Wordsearch, for the customer database and publisher content. But they didn't want the software technology like ZipScript.
Logos has a feature called Copy Bible Verses or CBV that duplicates some of the ZipScript features and adds a few that ZipScript didn't have. With fewer programmers, thanks to layoffs last fall, they don't have the human resources to do everything they might like to do or everything their customers want them to do.
Logos has CBV and won't likely add ZipScript to the toolbox. That means it is time for ZipScript lovers to either hold onto their computers with Wordsearch installed for the rest of their time as digital Bible students or learn to use Copy Bible Verses to gain similar functionality.
See My YouTube Demo of the Copy Bible Verses Tool
How to Open the Copy Bible Verses Tool in Logos
Open the Copy Bible Verses feature in Logos from the Tools button on the toolbar. Scroll down to the Passage section and click on the Copy Bible Verses item on the list.
You can also search by typing in the top box under the tools menu. The Copy Bible Verses item shows up. Click to open it.
If you like to open things from the Logos main toolbar's command box, type Copy Bible Verses and click on Show Copy Bible Verses, which will pop up in a list after you type "copy bible." You'll get a new window that, by default, fills the right side, taking up about a quarter of the window, as seen below.
How to Make CBV Follow Your Chosen Bible to Copy Bible Verses Quickly
You'll see the Copy Bible Verses window, usually on the right side of the Logos. You can type in the box to go directly to a Bible reference. I recommend linking the Copy Bible Verse and your Bible, so the CBV will follow whatever verse you see in the Bible.
Click on the menu button on the Bible (the three vertical dots on the right side of the Bible window's toolbar - see #1 above) and select a letter in the Link Set: section, like letter A. Do the same in the CBV window with the same letter you chose in the Bible window. Then when you move from one passage to another, the CBV window will follow the Bible window.
Linking the two windows will also let users select a passage in their Bible, and the CBV will set the passage as the content it will copy.
Copying Bible Verses for Pasting Into Various Apps or With Different Formatting
Copy Bible Verses does something ZipScript didn't do. You can copy text with special formatting. Logos ships with a set of formats already. You can create your own as well.
To change the formatting, select the drop-down link in the CBV window. You see this just below the text entry box where you would type your Bible reference. Click it, and the menu of formats shows up. If you don't want to use the included formats, you can create your own by clicking Create a new style, as seen at the bottom of the pop-up box. We'll cover more down below.
Choose from your installed Bible translations using the translation drop-down list (see the image above). You'll see your prioritized Bibles first and then others listed below. Select one to copy from that translation, regardless of the Bible you opened in Logos.
The Copy Bible Verses window will let you choose where to copy the verses on your computer. For example, you can have it copy a verse to Microsoft Word at the current spot in an open Word document. If the program's not open, it will open it and paste the passage into a blank file. You must first select the program from a drop-down list to do that. You also will choose Copy and Paste instead of Copy. If you click Copy, it will only place it on the system clipboard.
Copy and Paste puts the text in your program quickly. You don't have to switch to the other program and paste. The CBV does it all for you quickly. You may need to permit Logos to do this the first time you use it.
Format Options in Copy Bible Verses
When you open the formatting menu (the first link at the top of the CBV box), you'll see a grid of boxes that show what each formatting option will look like when you choose it. You'll see a little pencil icon next to the name if you create your own styles.
Look at the image above. You'll notice that the style next to number one shows no pencil icon. That style comes with Logos. However, the Bible Quote style has the pencil icons. I created that style because I didn't like the included styles and wanted a style to use in other programs to set it apart from regular text.
Above, you'll see the default format options. Create your own by clicking the Create a new style link at the bottom of this popup box. To show the above menu, click the link at the top of the CBV box. You'll see it above where it says "Copy Word Quote" where "Word Quote" is the custom format I use to copy to Word when writing my sermon or Bible study notes.
How to Create Custom Copy Formats in CBV
Many people use the built-in CBV Formats. I created my own because I wanted Bible quotes to show up with custom formatting in Microsoft Word. I don't use the Sermon Builder in Logos because Word fits a workflow I've used for over a decade while preaching from my iPad.
In Microsoft Word, I created a paragraph style that shows my Bible quotes in a larger font than regular text. Its a bold and bright maroon color makes it easier to read while preaching or teaching.
To create a custom format, choose to the Create a new style option in the formats dialog box. A new window pops up with some text that looks like code. Logos includes some info about what you'll see. Read it inside Logos by clicking here. You'll need Logos installed to open that link.
Create new formatting options by right-clicking on an existing style similar to what you want your format to look like. Then edit it using the codes listed in the help file linked above. Or you can see this help page on the Logos site.