Logos Bible Software
By Pastor Tom Anderson
Are you looking for a new way to begin in-depth Bible Study? Logos Bible Study software may be something you want to consider.
There are a number of Bible study applications for cell phones and tablets. Most of them are good. I’ve used Bible Gateway for many years. Others I know like “YouVersion”. Both of these have free versions which are easy to use. I spent some time recently researching more powerful tools for research and study such as Olive Tree and Logos Bible Software. I was looking for a good digital resource that I could rely on as I plan on downsizing my paper library.
Logos fit the bill for me. I started with the free version on my laptop. I explored the “quick start” videos just to get an idea of what it could do for me. I was intrigued. I went further and watched the “Deep Dive” videos on the Logos YouTube channel. I was impressed enough to purchase one of the higher-level packages. I’m very enthusiastic about this new tool for Bible Study and sermon preparation.
There are some downsides. First there is a learning curve to using the features of the software. This requires watching some tutorials and gaining some first-hand experience in using it. Secondly, some of the upper-level packages can be expensive. One could start with just a starter package and build a library from there. The price is due to the fact that you are buying actual books that would probably cost even more as a paper-and-ink volume. The authors have to do the same amount of research and writing whether the product is paper or digital.
I have over 600 reference works at my fingertips: Greek New Testaments, Hebrew Bibles, Atlases, Bible Dictionaries, Bible Commentaries, even the works of John Wesley. Every book is searchable. In the former days, I’d need to put a stack of 10 to 15 books on my desk and page through each of them by table of contents and index. Now I have relevant passages instantly open on my screen. It’s made all my books more accessible and as a result, I’m using them much more than ever before. This is a big win for me!
But Logos can do more. The software provides “guides” for passage study, topical study, word study, lesson preparation or sermon preparation. The guide functions like a recipe. It asks questions and points you to resources and passages that might help you. But you have to supply the thinking and do the writing!
Within the software there is a word processor as well as a powerpoint slide maker. There is also a database for you to plan out a Bible Study class or a sermon series. You can make notes, save, categorize and file quotations from books, make lists of Bible verses relevant to your study. If I hover over a word in my online Bible, Logos will give me an instant definition as well as the original language, Greek or Hebrew. If I click on the word, Logos gives me a new window containing a detailed word study as well as links to other resources in my library.
One of my favorite features in Logos is called “factbook”. I use it to search on a topic, word, person, place or thing in the Bible. It’s better than using Google because I don’t get the ads, the irrelevant and misleading information that comes from the web. Factbook uses my own digital library, so I know I’m getting trusted and relevant information.
Logos will set you up with reading plans for the Bible as well as any of your books. It has daily devotionals, prayer journals and notebooks. It’s an incredibly powerful tool for pastors, preachers, teachers and academics. But it could also be useful for someone completely new to Bible Study. This blog from Logos can provide more insight Logos Bible Study App: What It Is and Why It’s the Best Choice for You
If you want to know more about my experience, give me a call.
