Tell Us How You Use Logos!

Hey, Logos user—help us out!

We’d love to get a little feedback on how you use the software. Are there particular questions you use Logos to answer? Are there features you return to over and over again?

So, whether you’re a:

Pastor
Professor
Student
Writer
Chaplain
Missionary
Church planter
Homeschooling parent
Or someone who’s just serious about Bible study

. . . we want to hear from you!

Here are some of the things we’d like to know:

Does Logos help you fill a specific role? (e.g., pastor, student, professor, etc.)
What tasks do you do you count on Logos to help you with in your study?
Do you have a favorite feature?
Do you have particular feedback you’d like to pass along?

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Comments

DMB

No offense, Jayson, but that's an interesting list. It looks like the modern version of the good Apostle's sequences. I guess no prophets probably use Logos after the Montanists switched software.

Jayson Bradley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597485#Comment_597485

Thanks Denise.

That list was not intended to be definitive. I'd love feedback from anyone—including prophets.

Colleen Lanigan

Logos is the way that I do my research (just for fun, papers, or sermons). I'm located in a small town and Biblical resources are scarce. Logos helps to fuel my fire while keeping me grounded.

Peter Bombal

My devotions each day which may take me to delve into Hebrew or Greek Also sermon preparation as an elder

Also general study into theology History language and many other ways one can get answers in Logos which I used since 1995 at least. Note I also use the German translations and even Afrikaans ones. Latin is read slowly needing a dictionary as my remembering my vocabulary after learning it 60 year ago is understandable Wish I could go into classics in English or normal classics but time is not there hope helps you

Bruce Dunning

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597501#Comment_597501

I primarily use Logos as I serve in the following roles - being director of a Christian camp, an elder at our Church, preaching in church, leading Bible studies and for in-depth research for publications. Here is a breakdown of how I use it.

Devotions
I use Logos every day for my devotions, reading the Scriptures through in different versions each year and reading the New Testament through in Greek each year. My Hebrew is not as good so I use an interlinear. I also choose different devotional books to read each day

Language Study
I studied Greek and Hebrew in seminary but Logos has revived my ability to continue use and develop my skills. I use the grammars for review and reference and make good use of vocabulary cards. I also purchased a set of learn to read Latin books and am working my way through them.

In-Depth Research
I love to study the Scriptures and make good use of all the tools in Logos to do that. Sometimes it is to prepare for studies but many times it is just to continue my learning.

Reading Enjoyment
I have a list of 500 specific books that I want to read in my library that I have categorized and I try to read at least 1-2 books each week that I can.

Portability
Of course all of this is enhanced by portability. I am very thankful to Logos which has allowed me to replace much of my paper library with digital books. In the past when I went on trips I had to choose a few books that I could take with me but now I have access to my entire library as I travel. I've been on a speaking tour overseas for over a month now and use Logos every day. It really is an amazing blessing.

Al Sosa

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597485#Comment_597485

Denise,

Great point. . . Today the ministry of Prophets seems to be a thing of the eternal past. . . Well, it seems. . . God is of the present, not the past.

He is 'I AM' !!! Not I WAS. . . not I WILL BE. . . The Lord still works 'now' in the present the very miracles and prodigies we read in the NT.
It's too bad that some will locate God's awesome power only to the past. God, to some is the God of the past and the remote future. A mild form of deistic Christianity, I think. The Christ who does nothing but listens to our prayers and sits back and sees our hurts but does not get involved in our lives conversationally, relationally and powerfully. Not all, but some believe like this.

Denise, . . .someone may say that he or she was called by God to be a teacher, pastor or another of the five ministry leaders. I guess I can say the following because it's truth: May I humbly and fearfully testify that the Lord has blessed me, all for His Supreme Glory, as a prophet and teacher?

I use Logos roughly four hours everyday. All for His Supreme Glory and for the edification of the Body of Christ. . .

Blessings. . .

Eis Cristos

Al Sosa

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597488#Comment_597488

Jayson,

I cannot stay by the way side and say no-thing. The Lord has blessed me in the ministry of prophet, but also a teacher and preacher.I use Logos very much, it is my study tool that covers everything I can ask of it. I use it for about four hours daily after work. Sometimes I have to do some yard work and then back to the Word of God in Logos. I do lots of studying and meditation everyday in Logos. Prophets can be scholars too. In fact, Logos has been my scholarly tool for a teacher, preacher and prophet's ministry. I love the tool and I believe the Lord is glorified in this tool.

But let me say this to you. Several weeks ago, my wife came to me astonished because she was at work and then the Spirit spoke in her heart that she should learn LOGOS! Imagine that. Can you imagine that??? The Lord told my wife to learn LOGOS.

My wife did not want to learn Logos because the interface seems to be intimidating to her. But now, she will learn it. I don't know if you guys at LOGOS know this but the Lord is glorified in your product. I'm sure you do know!

Jayson, I do have some questions, but I'll ask them in another email. Oh yes, I've been using Logos for 20 years.

Blessings. . .

Eis Cristos

Al Sosa

James Chandler

1.I am Seminary Student and a Sunday School Teacher.

2. I use it for school papers, and preparing for Sunday School Lessons.

3. My favorite feature is the Word Study Feature.

4. Verse look up could be faster. Other than that I'm pretty happy.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597530#Comment_597530

Well, Al Sosa (and apologies to Jason for off-ish topic), but good luck to your wife!! It's intimidating only for a few minutes; then it's lots of fun!

(Plus I never expected the forum to have prophets; that's great!)

C.J. Scott

I use Logos for a lot, I spend hours in the software every day. - Apologies for any Typos it's 23:00 in the UK right now

How I use Logos

Daily Reading

The reading and studying part of my daily devotion is done using the software, I wake up between 4 and 5am each morning and begin to read through our church bible reading plan which has been the Connect the Testaments Plan from Faithlife for the past two years.

Daily Notes

I've always made notes when I read the bible and this year our Pastor asked if I could publish my notes each day so that the people following the bible Reading Plan from our congregation can get daily insight and application. This is where Logos really comes into its own. I can check the logic of a comment I've already made or look for new insights to inform my own understanding before commenting with a commentary, guide or article on a topic being covered not to mention the instant word studies.

The software allows me to publish these notes verse by verse using the community note feature, it is a little limited as on the Mac carriage returns do not work and it has no spell check so I need to make the note in my "Day One" journal app to break up paragraphs and spell check and then paste back over before publishing to the WWMF faithlife community. We just launched a church App too so I publish the notes to our church site and in turn to site feeds them to the App.

Boy's Brigade (Youth Group)

I'm an officer in our Church's Boys Brigade Battalion (7th London) looking after the Company Section, we use the Topic Guide in Logos to have some really great lessons, last week we typed the word Relationships into the topic guide and the lesson was just great.

Sermons

My self and other young men are asked to preach once or twice a year in our special end of month evening services, these are usually youth services which are attended by all the family. Sermon prep in Logos is great with all the tools and resources available although I wish I could make a flowing presentation or document and not just makes notes and clippings. My most recent message was on "God's Narrative" and before that on "God at work in you" and the first one was on "The Sovereignty of God" [:)]

Documentaries

One of the main uses of Logos for me and the motivation behind some of the volumes I have in my library is to make documentary films and essays to help the body of Christ with Apologetics etc.

The first Documentary I used Logos to help me make is called The Gospel, it is a 1 hour documentary exploring the nature and truth of the Gospel. I wrote, directed and edited this documentary and we now have over 3000 which we give away for FREE

The latest documentary I was the Editor for is called CHOSEN and is regarding Christian Advocacy for Israel, I used Logos to help with research for the documentary in particular dates for a timeline animation we included. You can watch it for free on our App

The current documentary I'm working on is a rebuttal to a KJV only documentary called "New World Order Translations" I literally began work on the essay yesterday and plan to create the documentary defending modern english translation later this year.

Some Feedback and Ideas

ESV Audio Offline

I Listen to the ESV as part of my reading plan on my Mac each morning, having to be online can cause problems when the connection is not good, it would be great to have the ESV audio offline

Daily Journals

For "every day" user like me a Journal feature would be great, one that tags the date, time and even place when notes were made and makes that meta data visible (created on xxx at xxxx). This feature should have the ability to include clippings and notes linked to a vers, word or passage as well as random free text which is just linked to the date and time. The Day One App on the Mac might give you some good ideas.

Family Sub-User Accounts

I have a beautiful wife and two great kids (5 and 2), I would love for them to use Logos too but in the own way. It would be great if the application allowed sub-users, maybe 5 for each master account so Kids etc can use logos and have their own set of notes and layouts etc without accidently deleting mine

Bookshelf

For books that you just want to read or want to get around to reading there should be a bookshelf feature. the bookshelf should be empty by default and users only add the books the really want to get around to reading or are reading now... I know they can be added to the shortcut bar but the icons are so tiny and everytime I see an interesting book I didn't even know I had in the library preview I add it to the shortcut bar... it is way to full now... it would be great to have a add to bookshelf option for every volume.

Projects

There should be a projects feature for those working on a paper, writing a book of their own, creating documentaries or anything of that nature. The project would be like a special type of layout where objectives can be set and progress tracked and we should be able to add to project library books that would be useful for the project. Projects may consist of multiple documents, tasks and even a calendar function to help user stay on track with the research vs production etc. it could even have special faithlife groups to help with collaborative working etc.

Currently I'm using layouts like projects but the features to help you stay on top of the project and pull all you have found in the library and written yourself together just isn't there.

Spell Checking

For big writers who have bad typing habits, spell check is just essential, we need this in every field in the application where we can type

When did I make that note?

There should be meta data on every note so you can look back at old notes and have an idea of when you made the note.

Quick Lists

today I'm looking for a list of all the Greek Manuscripts for the essay I'm writing for the rebuttal documentary I mentioned earlier, it would be great if lists could be found as a type

Commentary Summary view (first few lines without needing to hover)

I use the Lexaham bible guides for Paul's Letters which are great, it would be good to have an automated summary of the first few lines of a commentary on a particular passage in a special passage guide view, maybe a view called detailed or with summaries so you can at a glimpse get an idea of where the commentary might be going

User Summary Banner

This is just aseptic but it would be nice to have. We should have a user summary banner on the homepage possibly with things like user details (name), volume count, library value, highest bundle, bundle list, most recent note, most recent volume downloade, most recent volume accessed.

Al Sosa

Hello Jayson,

I've written before, but now I am going to respond to your questions with some answers but I also have some other questions that you might be able to help.

1. Logos helps me fill the role of teacher, preacher, researcher, prophet and just simply the hunger I have for knowledge of God's word. I am a life-time student of the Word. Logos is my partner in study and the Lord my Wisdom, Vision, by His Spirit who guides in me in all Truth and my Reason for all.

2. Tasks: Research a word. Pronouncing a Greek word. (Waiting for the Hebrew tool for pronouncing); Reading about 10 books, comparing texts, doing deep researching like currently "Eternal Generation"; creating a layout for every chapter in the Bible, that's about 1189 layouts that I will create in the next year; researching the church fathers, historical development of the church doctrines, hearing the Word read to me (you have time??). . .; more and more.

3. Favorite feature: Difficult question to answer. . . I love everything . . . what can I tell you.

4. Particular feedback: Yes.

I hope, pray that one day I can do a research of my few thousand books and find out what layouts are attached to each book. In the same line of thought, I desire to see how many books are in each layout. Why? This way, I can see which books are being used most in my studies.

Again: Search books for layouts. Search layouts for books. Make sense?
Next: Being able to open more than 'one' layout at the same time by using tabs.
Another: Having the ability to see logically the relationship of my layouts with each book so that I can catalogue or manage my topics and being able to do sub-topics within one layout. OK, let me explain. Having the ability to have one layout have several sub-layouts.
Example: Layout Name: History. Sub-layout Name: Rome; Greece; Israel, etc. Make sense??
Finally, but not final: Getting a more robust word processor in the note feature.

There is more. . . but tomorrow is coming. . .

Be blessed. . .

Eis Cristos

Al Sosa

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597550#Comment_597550

Clint,

Great feedback. I wrote some similar feedback. I like the 'Family Sub User Accounts'. I once suggested this in the forum, but got knocked down because of the license agreement, as I was told. I think 'Projects' is what I have suggested but as multi-layered layouts. Maybe it's the same. Either way, it's a great idea!

Great post Clint. . . be blessed. . .

Eis Cristos

Al Sosa

Kenneth

Ken Adair, Husband of Shana..

I am currently in my first year in school almost 40 years old study to serve God in a ministry best suited for my skills. Even to become a pastor. Being my freshman year i feel that i am now SET in a word or two for a proper and protective mode of writing in college about the aspects of biblical teaching. I find it most interesting Logos is next to my town of where i grew up Ferndale, WA. Just thought was unique. Thanks for the support.

David Paul

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597549#Comment_597549

(Plus I never expected the forum to have prophets; that's great!)

Things turn up where you least expect them, Denise.

Dan

Does Logos help you fill a specific role? (e.g., pastor, student, professor, etc.)

I have taken graduate coursework in New Testament Greek (and will soon be entering a doctoral program related to linguistics), and originally purchased Logos for sentence diagramming and the original language tools (cross-linked lexical and morphological resources, etc.).

What tasks do you do you count on Logos to help you with in your study?

I primarily use Logos for studying the Bible in its original languages, but I also enjoy the reading lists and simply using it for reading/studying resources in my library.

Do you have a favorite feature?

I like the reading lists and that I can check them as I read the books and see what resources I can purchase to find other resources. I need to learn how to make my own reading list but haven't had time yet.

Do you have particular feedback you’d like to pass along?

My biggest concern with the release of Logos v5 is the syntax tagging. This tool has evolved to the level of practically being a source of information, and at times it makes controversial assertions without notifying the user of alternative interpretive options. As more and more connections and interpretive tools are created, more and more subjectivity is involved. A great example of this can be seen in the Logos 5 exegetical guide’s syntax tagging for ‘Jesus’ in Romans 3:26. The morphology is of course correct ('Jesus' is in the genitive case), but the syntax tagging tool takes the extra interpretive license to say that this particular word is in the subjective genitive (which is a highly debated interpretive position, the tool appears to be following Wallace's GGBB:ESNT).

In other words, the syntax tagging is telling me that the ESV has incorrectly translated Romans 3:26 as “It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” According to the syntax tagging, this passage should be translated as “This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.” That’s a big difference, and a hotly debated interpretive solution. Obviously one’s knowledge of the original languages comes into play here to agree or disagree with the interpretive decision made, but for a weaker language student there is no indication that there is even another option here. Good commentaries and other tools can tip the student, but I think the syntax tagging should at least indicate that there is some disagreement in circumstances such as these.

Granted, while all of these syntactic categories are merely translational categories, their appearance beside morphological information may confuse beginning language students into taking them for granted. My fear is that as more tools that involve a high degree of subjectivity are developed like this one, and as more seminaries cease teaching biblical languages but rather teach students how to rely on tools such as Logos, tools like this will dictate how texts are translated and cause a generation of ministry leaders to take folks like Daniel Wallace's interpretive decisions as 'givens' without realizing that these categories are highly subjective and debated.

So enough griping, what am I hoping for? I'm hoping that this information can be presented differently so that its subjective nature is clearer. Just as lexical information appears beside the resource from which it is derived (e.g. BDAG, Louw-Nida, etc.), so also should syntactic translational categories (e.g. "Wallace: subjective genitive").

Daniel NM

Hi Jayson—

I consider myself an ordinary guy seeking to stay grounded in the Word of God. There was a time that I taught the young adult Sunday school class. I use Logos to read devotions, daily Bible reading, and even venture off on rabbit trails when I happen to read something that piques my interests at that moment. I also like to do word studies and to further my understanding of the biblical meanings of words in their contexts. I have been using the Android application more often when it comes to basic Bible reading and reference during Church Bible studies or earlier this month when I last participated in the local Bible Read-a-thon in the community park. I am thankful that I can download the books I need for off-line use on my tablet when WIFI is not available or not an option (prevent distractions). I also have used Logos notes to record notes from Bible-based conferences while have my digital Bible open opposite the note file.

Rich DeRuiter

Here are some of the things we’d like to know:

Does Logos help you fill a specific role? (e.g., pastor, student, professor, etc.)

What tasks do you do you count on Logos to help you with in your study?

Do you have a favorite feature?

Do you have particular feedback you’d like to pass along?

1. Yes. Logos is a huge help to me as a pastor.

2. I use Logos for sermon and Bible study prep. The ability to quickly do word studies, search/find related Scriptures, have multiple copies of my preferred Bible, plus copies of other Bibles open to the passage I'm studying, having commentaries open automatically to the passage I'm studying, or quickly open to the right place in the commentary, searching multiple commentaries quickly and easily, having right-click access to Bible dictionaries & encyclopedias, to quickly find information about Biblical places or people (also through the right-click menu), are some of the features I use almost without thinking anymore.

As I prepare messages (sermons), I often refer to homiletical commentaries, or the sermons of Spurgeon, Piper, Keller, and others. Another really helpful set of resources are English language dictionaries and a Thesaurus to help me find just the right word for what I'm trying to say.

As I go through the text and make discoveries, it's fairly easy to create a note so that the next time I'm studying the passage I'll remember what I found out.

EDIT: Logos is also a huge help when someone asks me (their pastor) one of those hard to answer questions. I can quickly search my library for potential answers, narrow down the issues, search the Scriptures and come back with a good (or at least intelligent sounding) answer.

3. It would be hard to identify a favorite feature as I use so many features so regularly. But I think my favorite isn't necessarily that 'fancy,' it's the ability to have several Bibles open and following each other all the time. For instance, right now I have the NIV84, NIV2011, NRSV, NLT, The Message and Logos' own Lexham English Bible all synced together. This makes it easy to check for translation issues, alternate ways of saying the same thing, and suggests ways to teach the text, simply by looking at other English translations.

My next favorite feature would be Biblical Places and Biblical People. Especially since visiting Israel, I want to know how long a journey was between place "A" and place "B," or where such-and-such a town is. It's also helpful at times to review who someone is, quickly find a Bible dictionary article, a resource that provides the meaning of their name, or see where they fit in their family and genealogy.

4. Feedback: All these features come at a cost: time. One needs a pretty fast computer to not encounter lags from time to time. Attention to program speed becomes more important the more one is invested in this program. Even so, Logos still saves me hours of work, so waiting a few seconds from time to time doesn't seem like much of a trade-off.

(‾◡◝)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597588#Comment_597588

Just a guy interested fascinated obsessed by the things of Christ for the past 40 years or so. And even though I maintain a desktop computer (plus some Android devices) to run Logos, I much prefer sitting "under my fig tree" (cf. Jn 1.48) and just pondering the Scriptures by using my own, God-given, built-in cpu. Consequently, I use Logos far less than many of the power users except to look up ideas and interpretations of a select few authors or to check out some Greek and Hebrew. I do like to use the Notes feature to jot down theological perambulations but they are of more use to jog my memory at a later date than they are to try and record every reference, idea, word study, illustration, or the next great book, etc. In other words, simple note taking is all I want or need. Hyper-links, of course, are fantastic and worth their weight in gold.

To be honest, I could care less about such things as whiz-bang highlighting ("pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, and green clovers"), guided passage studies, sermon starters, puzzles, a ton of books that I own, the social/community aspects, and lots of other stuff.

The word studies are ok but only as a starting point. Ditto the exegetical studies. The timelines are interesting as are the Bible Facts but I use them sparingly.

Bottom line: I like the program ... I realize that it is trying to be all things to all people ... I use it minimally compared to others ... but, hey, it does what I want and does it very well.

That's about all I can say.

Benjamin Cocar

As a pastor, Logos helps me to start sermons, the do exegesis of the text, word study, places, timeline.

As a professor, most of my textbooks are in logos library, and I am using in the class room to project over the screed directly from Logos. Also, teaching Greek and Hebrew, the language tools cut my work in half. My Hebrew textbook is in the logos library, so it is very easy for me and my students to be on the same page.

Dr. Cocar

Ward Walker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597630#Comment_597630

Does Logos help you fill a specific role? (e.g., pastor, student, professor, etc.)
What tasks do you do you count on Logos to help you with in your study?
Do you have a favorite feature?
Do you have particular feedback you’d like to pass along?

1. I'm a "layman" and use Logos for my own education.

2. I do teach a Sunday School class (I prefer a verse by verse style), and use Logos to cut/paste verses into my notes. I heavily highlight what I read, and often wind up taking screen captures of the markup instead of cut/paste the text. I write my lesson plans in Word. I've tried to project Logos in class before to use it to teach from, but that was unwieldy--noone like to watch someone else mouse around an app.

3. My favorite feature is highlighting, by a long shot. Reading plans are a second, with layouts being a third favorite feature. I sometimes use the passage guide. I like the Greek word pronunciation ... will we ever see (hear) the Hebrew?!?!? ... and the interlinears.

4. My penchant for highlighting, coupled with buying more resources than I can ever read, has really caused performance problems with the app. The mobile apps are nearly unuseful because they choke on my *** massive *** highlights files. I applaud the efforts of the programmers to work on app performance--there have been many helpful changes over time--but in general, I seem to bring Logos to it's knees--even on a beefy computer w/ SSD drive.

Anton Swagerman

Starting in the morning with a reading plan before breakfast feeding on the word. Apart from going through some literature reading some pages Calvin's institutes and Berkhof's theology. A marvelous feature is reading with an android, when you stop, shut down, and start the next time it will come up at the location you were. Being Dutch born and bred my English vocabulary is not like the Kiwi's around in NZ. Therefore I use dictionaries often to look up words to find the precise meaning/interpretation. Being only just over 30 year 'down under' I still lived longer on the continent. Clicking the word will give the dictionary explanation. I started in logos 3, went thtough 4 and now use 5. Like the development from Dos, to Dos 5, to Windows 1-2-....7, and 8 coming. Anton Swagerman.

Veli Voipio

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597657#Comment_597657

Does Logos help you fill a specific role? (e.g., pastor, student, professor, etc.)
What tasks do you do you count on Logos to help you with in your study?
Do you have a favorite feature?
Do you have particular feedback you’d like to pass along?

1. I am a retired computer engineer, and I like to get deeper into Greek and Hebrew, and I like to see what software features are available and how I can combine them in my study

2. Search and link features (very useful already, athough these have always room for improvement)

3. Passage guide

4. Hebrew audio pronunciations would be very helpful

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597662#Comment_597662

1. lector preparation, lectionary based Bible studies, pamphlets on Bible study methods, added-value user resources for Logos resources

2. text comparison, resource searches, basic data (parallel passages, genre, rhetorical devices, outlines, pericope boundaries ...), doctrinal use of scripture passage ...

3. Catholic topical index; pericope comparison, reading lists

4. Weaknesses that drive me nuts:

in Guides where only some resources are tagged for inclusion, there is no easy way to create a collection of those yet to be tagged so that it can be searched
when a commentary refers to a specific translation, hovering on the translation identifier should allow me to see the passage in that translation
I need a hymn & poetry section in for text in addition to the music section - yes I can create a collection and run a search but ... And hymn name/first line should be a data type for linking in resources
I like the new sermon section; it needs to be available by liturgical date as well
prioritization needs to be made less time consuming ... I have never gotten everything working as I like
lectionary/reading plan/reading cycle need to allow the user to specify the readings for a particular day - allowing the plan to be repeated and allowing creation without specific dates (for historical lectionaries, reading plan for which start dates are later supplied ...)
the introductory layouts for new users - from GO box or lectionary should work correctly in all details so that one can demonstrate Logos' capabilities without constantly saying "well, what should happen is ..."
text comparison should be expanded to allow pseudepigrapha and church fathers
pericope tool should be expanded to recognize lectionary pericopes and ideally, commentary pericopes
datatype links should be better documented so that one can always derive the value rather than guess (see threads on Book of Concord Reading Cycle)
allow user created timelines as in L3 - I lost several timelines and use/need more focused timelines than the current format

In short, I often feel like I spend so much time customizing Logos to finish jobs it almost does that I have little time to actually use it.

greypilgrim

Jayson,

Hear our my thoughts:

I am a pastor. Logos is the first program I turn on. I use it to exegete the passage. My Greek is rusty and my Hebrew has long been forgotten so all the aids really help to make sure that my understanding of the key words stays within the boundaries of their original meaning--lexicons, commentaries, and sermons are the most helpful. SermonCentral is a waste of time. I know this is harsh but my style and approach is much different and I do not trust the authenticity of many of the stories. I seldom can verify them.

I will occasionally attempt to remaster my Greek and Logos serves me well with the learning videos.

During my Dmin study Logos was invaluable. It drastically shortened my search for Scripture verses. Unfortunately it had very few of the required reading in digital form and I could not afford to purchase one series. But for those who just beginning will enjoy the expanding resources.

Last year I took a month sabbatical and immersed my thoughts in John Owen's works. The digital format, note taking, highlighting really helped me to retain the information and refer back to it.

The weakest feature of Logos is the inaccurate information that I received when purchased Logos 4. I was told my CPU (i3) could easily handle it. WRONG. I often become bogged down. I cannot even think to upgrade to Logos 5 until I purchase a new machine which may not happen till Logos 6 comes out.

Morris Procter's videos are another excellent aid. I have attended both seminars and they are fun and he is a great guy but the videos are far more helpful than the seminars because I can keep referring back to them.

Justin Alfred

Dear Logos:

My name is Justin Alfred, and I am an Adjucnt Professor at the Azusa Pacific Graduate School of Theology, and I am also a writer, seminar lecturer, speaker for men's retreats, pastoral fill-ins, and small group Bible studies leader on various topics. My area of focus has been the Ancient Near East, both historically, linguistically, and theologically, and I have been tremendously blessed to have access to the resources I use for my research, writing, and teaching in the above areas I just mentioned. I have been blessed to have been enabled by the Lord to learn and use many different languages in my educational and teaching career, and Logos has continuously grown and developed to a point where you all have almost all of the ones I use with relation to their actual fonts, along with their transliterations, for the purpose of copying and pasting (e.g., Aramaic/Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, Coptic, and Arabic), the only exceptions being the Sumerian and Akkadian cuneiform fonts (although Caplice's Akkadian grammar is very helpful), but you do have a good selection of the Ugaritic, cuneiform script available, which is quite beneficial for me in my work. Therefore, I highly recommend Logos for any one interested in doing serious research, writing, and ministry to the Body of Christ world wide, for strength and encouragement, but also for the purposes of evangelism and reaching those who are lost and without Christ, and especially those who are entrapped in the darkness and deception of Islam.

I do pray for all of those who work at Logos on a consistent basis, that God will continue to lead, guide, and direct them in all they do, and that their eyes will remain on Jesus, versus themselves, as we who are believers in Jesus are His bondservants.

God bless you,

Justin T. Alfred

Justin Alfred

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597662#Comment_597662

Dear Veli:

If you will go to Blue Letter Bible, they do have a pronunciation guide for both the Hebrew and Greek.

God bless you,

Justin T. Alfred

Fred Anderson

I'm a retired pastor who uses Logos 5 for sermon preparation (I still preach most Sundays) and daily Bible study, often in the original languages (Greek more than Hebrew). Logos makes this easy, with the reverse interlinear feature and the links to the Louw-Nida resources.

DMB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597630#Comment_597630

Does Libronix help you fill a specific role? (e.g., pastor, student, professor, etc.)
Yes! As head rabbit-trail chief, the large library is a blessing. Whoever 'curates' it, is my favorite advisor

What tasks do you do you count on Libronix to help you with in your study?
Keeping my place when I'm reading, along with arranging my other books relative to my reading

Do you have a favorite feature?
Yes ... workspaces. I have one for each of my 'worlds' I'm exploring (e.g. 2ndTemple, archaeology, womens, etc)

Do you have particular feedback you’d like to pass along?
Only one: allow a 'driver' link so you can connect commentaries to your Bible. Pretty basic.

James C.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597741#Comment_597741

I use Logos to prepare sermons and bible studies (I'm a full time preacher).
I use Logos for apologetics. I encounter Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and Catholics.
I use it to answer questions that I just don't have an answer for (people sometimes ask questions that cause me to research and look up things).
I use it for school (I am a student at Knox Online going for my Masters in Christian and Classic Literature).
I use Logos for basic reading and devotions.
Logos is running almost 24hrs a day on my computer and I use it every day throughout the day.

Bohuslav Wojnar

As a disciple of Jesus Christ I use Logos for my personal devotion time and meditation.

As a life-long student of the Bible, theology, history, Judaism of the 2nd Temple Period etc. etc. I use Logos for reading my books all the time, at home, at the parking lot, waiting my wife while she is shopping [:)], at the airports, at the doctors etc. I use iPad version of Logos for that purpose.

As a senior pastor I prepare my sermons, mainly at home, adding 2 more monitors to my laptop, working with Logos and MS Word, copying all kind of material to the study document. Later I write a sermon out of the gathered material. Logos is the only Bible software I use. I do exegesis, word study (my favorite feature), I look sometimes at the topical guides, maps, and many other tools in Logos. Always I do Passage Guide to the needed passage and look through the commentaries. Logos is the main software I use on my computer. I do not preach from Logos, I preach from pdf file saved at the iPad.

As a Bible school teacher I use Logos special layout while teaching. I do it directly from Logos, sing a big screen of the TV (or projector) to show students what I want them to see.

As a missions leader I use my electronic library in Logos to carry it with me to places I would hesitate to take one single book with me. It is great to know all my library is in my pocket in that situations. While being with leaders at the mission field, discussing some issues with them, I can open Logos in the evening, checking with my resources on given subject I am not able to predict at home I would need. Its just great to have this possibility.

Simply, I can't imagine how Apostle Paul could make it without Logos [:D]

Veli Voipio

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/597738#Comment_597738

If you will go to Blue Letter Bible, they do have a pronunciation guide for both the Hebrew and Greek.

Thanks Justin, that is a good advice.

I can use the link http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5003&t=KJV

But the use is a bit complicated: I have to copy the lemma to the New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek dictionaries within Logos, then pick up the Strong's number and place it to that BLB web page.

This is a good thing for now, but in long run I look forward to the Logos internal application

In Christ, Veli

Jacques Gauvin

Logos often helps me find a passage that I forget the exact words of. I also use it to do topic studies using scripture only. I host a Bible based website, www.jacquesgauvin.com, and am an active participant on Facebook where I try to add meaningful comments. I also use Logos to assist in this task.

Greg Corbin

Jayson, I am happy to give my feedback. FYI, I am a Logos user since 2008 - bought Logos 3 back then and eagerly moved to the newer version each time. Here are my answers to the numbered questions...

1. I am a Senior Pastor of a Southern Baptist Church in the metro Birmingham, Alabama area.

2. I use Logos daily on my MacBook Pro and ipad. I use it first thing in the morning for my personal devotional / study time and then I move into preparation for two distinct sermons each week - Sunday morning and evening. In addition, I find myself using Logos to look up answers to questions that come up about the Bible or church history or theology. I also use Logos sometimes to prepare of pastoral counseling sessions, as I have a "counseling" collection that enables me to find resources for particular issues.

3. The collection and search features are my two favorites. My favorite resources are the reverse interlinears and my beloved commentaries.

4. As a user who started on PC and migrated to Mac, I have to say that Logos 5 really finally brought near equality between the two platforms. Thank you for making Mac users a priority! Nevertheless, I still find the program more "buggy" and less stable on my Mac. At times the almost daily updates are a nuisance. Personally, I wonder if it would be possible to send out one large update per week rather than clogging things up daily. Anecdotally, everyone I personally know who uses Logos is a daily user like myself. Still, in the grand scheme of things, these issues are very minor. Thank you for a marvelous, revolutionary product that has made me a better man and a better pastor. Logos 5 was truly a quantum leap. Don't rush out the next version until it is ready. Blessings to you all!

Houseplant

The way I use Logos the most is the daily reading through the Bible. I get so much out of being able to put the the study Bible right next to it and learn from both of them. I like being able to instantly access related verses with a touch of the finger. I'm not a pastor or anything---just a person who is constantly amazed at God's willingness to communicate and bless and guide.

I'm just starting out with the software and haven't figured out how to copy and paste from the study Bible and my other books. Copying a Bible vs is easy enough, but I started a word pad document with a theme and wanted to include other comments too. I have a touch pad screen laptop with Win 8 and it is not like my old Win XP !

And a big thank you for the free books and affordable other ones. I always wanted a Kindle or Nook, but didn't get one, cause I didn't think I could find the kind of reading material I like. Then by the grace and providence of God I was given several Bibles on a CD which included Logos software to access it. I just love being able to have all these books to read. Thanks again.

Rickey Lamphere

Jayson, is there a book I can purchase to help me use Logos 5? I have a Logos 4 library but am looking to start a Bible Study in my home and need help. As I did not use the Logos 4 very much. Any help will be grateful. Thanks Rickey

Kevin Moore

I facilitate a class at church called Bible Basics. It is a survey of the entire Bible. I use Logos as a premier resource in researching the deeper meanings and nuances of scriptures. Since I write my own curriculum, I make heavy use of different versions of the Bible, Commentaries, Biblical and Archaeological History to prepare the handouts. Having all those resources at hand make the job so much easier.

There are two things that I find distracting. The first is I keep getting repetitive and annoying popups asking if I like Logos. I've begun answering "NO" in hopes they will cease. The Perseus collection is great, but since I do not have the luxury of time in which to learn to read Greek or Latin, a less convoluted method of selecting the non-English versions to hide them would be greatly appreciate.

I would love to have the Portfolio package or the Diamond Package, but I simply cannot afford them. I've no idea how many man hours go into coding the resources and preparing them for download are. I suspect quite a bit and that is expensive. I know Logos and its associated sites are designed to make the owners money. I have no trouble with that, I just wish some of the stuff was less expensive.

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/598032#Comment_598032

Hi Rickey

is there a book I can purchase to help me use Logos 5?

Does the material at https://www.logos.com/training/desktop and http://wiki.logos.com/Logos_5_Video_Tutorials help at all?

Also https://www.logos.com/product/36348/logos-5-training-manual-set

There have been some updates to Logos 5 since these were produced but the principles are the same.

Graham

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/598038#Comment_598038

Hi Kevin - and welcome to the forums

The first is I keep getting repetitive and annoying popups asking if I like Logos

I see this on the mobile apps but not Logos 5 (desktop). Is that consistent with what you are seeing?

a less convoluted method of selecting the non-English versions to hide them would be greatly appreciate.

In the Logos 5 library filter box type "publisher:perseus ANDNOT lang:english" and that should give you what you are looking for. Select them all (click on one and then Ctrl-A) and then Ctrl-rightclick and you will get the option to hide them all

If this doesn't help then please create a new thread and explain the issues you are having in more detail.

Graham

Robert L McClain

I am a Moody Bible Seminary student. I plan to complete my all-online MA in Applied Biblical Studies this Fall. I have been using Logos Silver since the program began, and I don't know how I would have made it this far without Logos. As my classes have progressed, I have been able to add Moody's required textbooks to my Logos library, and the links the digital books provide to the entire library are phenomenal. The only problem is that sometimes they lead me down an interesting but irrelevant rabbit trail and I have to back up and stick to the subject.

My favorite features are Layouts and Copy. When a course begins I start building a mini-library of study materials and save them as a Layout. This way I don't have to remember which of the references I am using when I open Logos. I use Copy in conjunction with Microsoft One Note to collect the results of my research. The citations I need come right with the text I've copied. (I wish Logos had a more user friendly notes feature like One Note.)

Kent

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/598091#Comment_598091

I am a Moody Bible Seminary student. I plan to complete my all-online MA in Applied Biblical Studies this Fall.

I did not know Moody had an online program. I guess most are going to them and Logos will benefit as well as the students.

Dusty Miller

I'd love to tell you but I can not use it on my surface tablet so when I am traveling 6 days a week it is useless. Big bummer for me.....😠

Nathan Parker

I'm a seminary student. Logos helps me with research for papers, plus I'll be digging more into the Biblical languages coming up. Plus it's great for personal study as well!

I love the datasets in L5. They've been lifesavers for my papers. Love the Bibliography tools as well. Can't wait to dig more into the Biblical languages stuff coming up.

As for particular feedback, I think I've already shared all I can think of for now. If I get more, you'll sure hear it. :-)

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

Are there particular questions you use Logos to answer? Are there features you return to over and over again?

Many forum questions about using Logos: e.g. recent thread => Newbie Needs Help with Copying Verses in a Particular Format that includes a screen shot of my favorite Logos feature of visual filter highlighting showing range of Greek verbal expression in Greek, English, and Spanish. Dreaming of more Bibles with interlinear tagging, especially Complete Jewish Bible and New American Standard 1977. Also dreaming of => Suggestion: Parallel Bible Print-on-Demand for use in prison bible studies.

Thankful for personal books tool. Preparing one personal book bible => American Standard Version 1901 - Personal Bible without Chapter and Verse #'s increased appreciation for Logos resource tagging and accuracy. If personal book syntax for interlinear tagging was released along with ability to copy tagging from existing resource(s), anticipate more resource(s) being tagged by various Logos users. Suspect tagging for Complete Jewish Bible would be similar to NIV (so initially could replace NIV surface text with CJB). Likewise anticipate NASB 1995 Update tagging being useful for NASB 1977.

Thankful can share many Logos items (e.g. highlighting palettes, visual filters, collections, notes, ...) via Faithlife.

Looking forward to Hebrew Audio Pronunciations (longest pre-pub under development ?) and update for Learn to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software using Logos Hebrew Morphology.

Thankful for 750 free Vyrso eBooks since Thanksgiving 2011, especially real and true stories.

Thankful for dynamic upgrade pricing so only pay for new resources.

Concur with Blog => http://blog.logos.com/2014/05/why-do-i-need-so-many-books/ along with Logos search capabilities.

Thankful for substantial Logos 5 feature parity on OS X and Windows. Thankful for many improvements since Logos 4 Mac alpha pre-releases.

Keep Smiling [:)]

Brent Hoefling

I use logos whenever I come up with a good, new, and secret Idea for a doctrine that is counter-culture and goes against the grain of the old-school-church. it is easy to pick and choose quotes and out of context scriptures to eisegate what I want the Bible to say. (text-bite provided for someone to mis-quote me, of course and sarcastic humor intended)

Seriously, though - nearly the opposite. I use L5 in many ways, I'll try to list them:

Mobile Ed: I have or pre-purchased nearly all courses (at least thusfar), for continuing my education in the Lord. not seeking any further degrees at this time and having this available is an awesome opportunity for me as pastor to make myself get back into the habit of organized training/school. Having a greater-than-portfolio library enables me to also do nearly all the extra reading. In fact, L5's read to me feature is used a lot when I am going through that material.
research for writing:

articles for our church publication
sermons for my local church and other preaching opportunities
papers for other release, including "notes" that I will from time to time put on FB, as I don't really "Blog" anymore.
research and assistance in creating teaching materials for church and other teaching opportunities.

devotional reading and prayer-directions with prayer lists.
quote and share devotionals and other readings to social media's for sharing and expounding as requested
Bible Study for personal pleasure and challenge
Bible study for familial sharing
Teaching Bible Study using Logos
teaching and presenting Logos software informally

There are probably other things I use, but this is just off the top of my head.

John Goodman

Jayson,

I've been a student for the past 3 years and I've found Logos very helpful. I expect to go on using it as a minister for sermon prep and further research and/or study.

I tend to use Logos for translation and exegetical assignments. I've used the language training videos and found it very helpful to have electronic editions of all my key language resources such as grammars, lexicons and original language texts. The linking between these makes research very snappy.

I use a lot of bible commentaries in Logos too.

I have found it very helpful to have stuff read out to me by the voiceover function.

For me the greatest weakness at the moment is note taking. I would like to be able to tag my notes and filter them. I'd like to be able to have notes files for each resource but also to search notes across multiple resources for a tag etc. I'd like highlighted text to be automatically added to the note.

I'd like to see books added without restarting logos.

The feature I'm most grateful for recently is stability. For the first two years of using logos I got pretty upset with how often it crashed but I can say that it has not crashed for me in the last 6 months!

Hope that helps,

John

Sacrifice

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/598125#Comment_598125

Let us count some ways:

1. At home in family/personal study
2. For prayer list
3. In church, sermons, lessons, etc.
4. In teaching at seminary
5. In writing commentaries
6. In ministering to the homeless
7. In ministering at a prestigious golf club

Cheryl Dumais

Hmmm, how to answer such a broad question. First of all I appreciate the opportunity to do this. I am neither a pastor nor a formal student. I am a believer with a thirst to learn more about God. I use my Logos for Bible study on both particular passages and topics. My budget is somewhat limited since this is something I do for personal interest so I really appreciate the community pricing opportunities. I would love to see easier use on the lexicons as I am still somewhat stumped to find what I want. I currently have the Platinum edition and have added a multitude of other resources over time. Commentaries and maps are probably my most used part of the package. I build bible studies which are shared with a small group I am a part of. I also have recently been allowed to do some biblical research for one of the pastors at my church. Now as to comments, this is hands down the best resource I have ever used! I love the way everything is integrated. I love that I can copy and paste portions into my document that I'm building and I love that I can add my own material. I have to say a huge thank you also for bringing back the NICOT and NICNT commentaries by book for those of us with limited budgets. You really listen! I was blown away. One last thing on my current wish list, I would love to come to the training you hold in Bellingham but it is always held the last week of the month. This is an impossible time for me personally as I am an accountant and it is month end. It would be lovely if you could rotate those dates a bit. Thank you everyone at Logos you are making a difference.

Charles S. Pugh

I use Logos for small study groups, sermons, and personal growth. My favorite feature is the sermon starter which does hours of research in seconds.

Bill Shewmaker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/598344#Comment_598344

I use Logos for personal study, sermon prep, Doctoral studies, teaching others how to use Logos (and encouraging them to buy and build). It is a truly great resource that I use daily to maintain my prayer list(s), personal study notes, etc. I have the Platinum package with "several" (tongue in cheek) other resources. My favorite app within Logos is the ability to run Word Studies.

Peter Plowright

I am making a Devotional Help tool by inserting Bible verses and other Christian writings into the pages of a standard photo album. I also print, slice to size and insert Logos Bible Art every third or fourth page. Unfortunately I only print in black and white, so I wish I could order printed samples in colour. Even the fridge magnets might work if they shipped to Canada. I must add though that I enjoy the Bible Art very much, in colour or not.

Logos is an almost overpowering tool. Too be honest I have not had time to learn my way into much of the maze. There are other online Bible programs that are very helpful without the complexity of Logos. Perhaps some future need will cause me to delve into the "breadth and length, and depth and height" of Logos, a true exposition of the Word of God.

Peter Plowright