Where should I store my sermon notes in Logos?

Benjamin Quek · 2025-01-03T13:18:50+00:00

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What is the best place in Logos to store my preaching notes and track my past messages?
I'm new to Logos so I currently still use Olive Tree Bible study app with split screen, half Bible and half notes. I use simple sermon notes, often a few lines, and don't have much to store.I put my sermon notes in my "Notes" because it's the only one I know. Then I copy it across to Olive Tree. The Logos sermon preparer section looks like a slide show producer so I'm not sure if I should use it.

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Graham Criddle

What is the best place in Logos to store my preaching notes and track my past messages?

The standard approach is to use Sermon Builder to create sermon documents and Sermon Manager to manage / track planning of themes/topics etc

While Sermon Builder can create slides, you can turn off displaying them and ignore them if you don’t want them.

I'm new to Logos so I currently still use Olive Tree Bible study app with split screen, half Bible and half notes.

You could do exactly the same in Logos - with a split screen showing your Bible and a sermon document

Maria

You are in for a real treat! Logos has powerful tools for building and managing sermons.

The tool for creating sermons is called "Sermon Builder." You can use the slide show section of the Sermon Builder, or you can toggle the slides off so that you don't see them, and you can completely ignore them. You can use Sermon Builder without using the slides.

For tracking your messages, past and future, Logos uses "Sermon Manager," which is fully integrated with Sermon Builder. For example, if you list a date for your sermon in a sermon in Sermon Builder, that sermon will automatically show up in Sermon Manager, scheduled on that date. You can plan and access all past and future sermons in Sermon Manager.

Below I've linked to Logos' short, to-the-point video tutorials (most are 5 minutes or less) to help you get started. Click the link, then scroll to the bottom for the videos on "Using Sermon Builder" and "Using Sermon Manager."

Have fun!

https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017433952-Sermon-Prep-Series

Benjamin Quek

Thank you Graham and Maria. I've tried using the split screen function on my tablet with Bible on the top and Sermon builder on the bottom. I'm unable to create a similar function. It creates something like this:

What I am trying to create is something like this below, which is what I've been using on Olive Tree Bible app. In Olive tree Bible app I use the "Notes" section and split screen to do this. But I was wondering if there was a better way I could do this in Logos. If not better, then perhaps similar.

Christopher Randall

On your screenshot of Logos, you are in Bible and Sermon "Manager." What you can do is, in the Sermon Manager, create a new sermon by hitting the "add" button at the top right. This will create an Untitled Sermon, which you can edit the details on the right. But clicking on the Untitled Sermon will allow you to get into the "Sermon Builder," which on the iPad is just "Sermons." If opening/adding the sermon causes it to go into a new tab, you can hit the "Layouts" button at the bottom right to give you the option of opening a Bible in a split screen.

I hope that helps.

Graham Criddle

And if you do as @Christopher Randall describes you get something looking like this

Benjamin Quek

Thank you all, this is very helpful and I'm enjoying it already. I may use Logos app to preach tomorrow. There is one more function I'm trying to find. When I tap a Bible verse link, it changes the main passage on the top. I think I prefer that to the Olive tree version as I can read more. However, is there any way to make it a popup or page change like Olive tree? Or is there a way to quickly return to the main text without using the back button (which takes 3 taps)?

In Logos app below. Tapping changes the main Bible, but it's difficult to return to the main text.

In Olive Tree app below. Tapping creates a popup which I can quickly close by tapping elsewhere.

Maria

@Benjamin Quek

Good morning, Benjamin,

There's a 3rd tool we haven't mentioned yet, called "Preaching Mode." When you're ready to teach, you click on the podium-like-symbol. (On desktop, this symbol is labeled "preach;" on my phone, it's unlabeled and just looks like a large garbage can, lol; I don't own a tablet, so I can't say what it looks like there.)

This opens a version of your semon you can speak from, and includes a timer with the ability to give you warnings when your time is up. As in Sermon Builder, you can toggle the slides function off.

However, to address your most recent question, when you hit a scripture link in Preaching Mode, nothing happens. It does not open the Scripture. Morover, I don't think there's a way to have a Bible open on half the screen if you choose to use Preaching Mode. Preaching Mode takes over the entire screen. I open it on my phone, and teach my lesson from my phone, while presenting the slides using my laptop.

I know that there are others in this forum who have chosen NOT to use Preaching Mode when they speak, because they, like you, prefer to be able to open a Bible or other resources while speaking. They preach right from Sermon Builder, as you have been thinking to do. Maybe some of them will see your question and chime in with an option that works better for your preaching style (better than using Preaching Mode).

For myself, I insert all Scriptures I might read aloud right in the text of my sermon (which is actually a lesson, not a sermon…I don't preach…I use the Sermon Builder to teach children's Sunday School and VBS). I have paragraphs of Scripture included, available in case I want them. I will often color the Scripture green, so that I can easily see what is Scripture and what is my lesson.

I hope this is helpful…have a blessed Saturday!

Graham Criddle

However, is there any way to make it a popup or page change like Olive tree? Or is there a way to quickly return to the main text without using the back button (which takes 3 taps)?

I don’t believe so.
although if you are using a tablet you could have a layout with two Bibles open allowing you to keep one focused on the main text.

and it looks to me that tapping the back button varies between one and two clicks.

Maria

(Sorry…accidental post, hit the wrong button…no way to delete that I'm aware of.)

Benjamin Quek

Thank you all for the helpful tips. I tried using split screen last Sunday and it felt clunky but worked to some extent. I can't find a way to make my notes smaller than "small font" and to remove the smaller gap between lines. When I make the notes smaller, the Bible becomes smaller too which is a downside.