What Are Your Favorite / Most Useful Resources?

I am building my Logos library and trying to go for quality over quantity. I subscribe to Logos Cloud Plus and have been looking for good resources to build my library around. I'm a pastor who preaches regularly at a small church plant in SW Missouri.

I would like some feedback from the Logos community on certain resources that I should seek to own. What are your favorite go-to resources? Are there certain dictionaries, commentaries, bundles/collections that you highly recommend?

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Everett Headley

Your particular views would help us recommend. Do you have any seminary behind you?

My top 5 recommends:

1. John Piper Collection and Sermon Archive (2 seperate resources).

I love anything Piper. I have found his sermons to be very helpful.

2. Master Journal Bundle

Pricey, but the articles are very helpful.

3. Hope for Heart Counseling Bundle

Easy refernce and you can print to hand out to those you are counseling.

4. Preach Through the Word Commentary Series

I really enjoy this series's approach. Seems to be one of the more cost effective series.

5. Reformed Package.

Get the best one you can afford, great lineup and minimal filler resources.

Mike Childs

1. BDAG and HALOT lexicons

2. New International Commentary on OT / NT

3. Pillar Commentaries

4. Word Biblical Commentary

5. New Interpreters' Bible Dictionary

6. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

7. Ancient Christian Commentary on the Scripture

8. Tim Keller Sermon Library

Brandon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822826#Comment_822826

Your particular views would help us recommend. Do you have any seminary behind you?

My top 5 recommends:

1. John Piper Collection and Sermon Archive (2 seperate resources).

I love anything Piper. I have found his sermons to be very helpful.

2. Master Journal Bundle

Pricey, but the articles are very helpful.

3. Hope for Heart Counseling Bundle

Easy refernce and you can print to hand out to those you are counseling.

4. Preach Through the Word Commentary Series

I really enjoy this series's approach. Seems to be one of the more cost effective series.

5. Reformed Package.

Get the best one you can afford, great lineup and minimal filler resources.

Thanks Everett. I should have listed some of the resources I've already purchased. I don't have much yet. Here are a few that I have and will give you a good idea of where I stand theologically.

John Piper Sermon Archive

Best New Testament Commentaries (Link)

John Macarthur Essential Bible Study Library (I don't completely agree with him theologically but a fantastic bible teacher...got a great deal)

Thanks for your recommendations. I'll look into them.

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822831#Comment_822831

1. New Interpreter's Bible 12 Volume Commentary

This is my goto commentary to start off my studies and it is almost always helpful and very insightful

2. Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

I have New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible and International Standard Bible Encyclopedia as well but if Anchor was the only one I had I would be content. Although Ironically enough the other 2 I mention are the ones I actually own hard cover copies of.

3. Book of Common Prayer Daily Office Lectionary

For many years I have used this as the source for my daily devotions I have tried the RCL Daily but did not like it as much.

4. Westminster Bible Companion

This series is a very good devotional style commentary reminding me a bit of Barclay. Very practical and well written. I hope FL will offer the final volume that was released over a year ago now.

5. Feasting on the Word

This specialized commentary offers for treatments of each lection covered in the 3 year RCL, please note that the Logos release only includes the ones in the print edition so is missing half of the OT readings for the time after pentecost. But even with this flaw it is still an invaluable resource.

-Dan

Brandon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822838#Comment_822838

Thanks guys, those are some helpful recommendations. Keep 'em coming!

I have a bachelor's degree from a Christian University and 1 year of seminary. But I have learned most by self-study. I don't have a working knowledge of the original languages.

William

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822845#Comment_822845

I have a big library and I love the resources but if I was going to start from scratch I would put my money into the journals more than anything else. I rarely read entire books but I read a lot of journal articles and have found them to be one of the most valuable aspects of Logos for both personal study and sermon prep. You may want to look at the Master Journal bundle, I think it's a steal for the price and the resources you receive.

Also take a peek at the Florida College Annual Lectures ,cheap and valuable in my opinion:

Bill

DAL

Commentaries: NIB, PNTC, John Phillip, John Butler, Expositor's Bible Commentary, College Press NIV Commentarie and Preaching the Word.

Dictionaries/Encyclopedias: IVP Black Dictionaries, ISBE and Dictionary of Biblical Imagery.

Lexicons/Word Study Dictionary: BDAG/HALOT, Complete Word Study Dictionaries OT/NT, Vine's Expository Dictionaries OT/NT, Mounce's Expository Dictionary (And Thayer's every now and then).

Apologetics Collection: Norman Geisler's works (quite a few) and Paul Copan's Apologetics Collection.

Study Bibles: MacArthur's Study Bible, Zondervan's NIV and Faithlife's Study Bible.

Sermon Outlines/Manuscripts: John Piper, Baker Sermon Outlines and everything else Logos offers in Base Packages for sermon outline ideas.

Systematic Theologies: Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and Jack Cottrell's The Faith Once For All...

Greek and Hebrew Audio Pronunciation tools

That's all for now!

DAL

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822826#Comment_822826

Hope for Heart Counseling Bundle

Based on this recommendation, I went ahead and purchased the Chaplain's Library. With dynamic pricing and an academic discount, I paid a little more than the price of that bundle, but received a bundle more.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822860#Comment_822860

Hope for Heart Counseling Bundle

Based on this recommendation, I went ahead and purchased the Chaplain's Library. With dynamic pricing and an academic discount, I paid a little more than the price of that bundle, but received a bundle more.

Good set! Helped me a lot on my ethics class a while ago. I also own the Spanish version.

DAL

Dave Thawley

Hi Brandon,

For me Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary would be the first on my shopping list.

Also the ivp dictionary series is good. Its on sale at the moment.

https://www.logos.com/product/37742/the-ivp-bible-dictionary-series

Brandon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822865#Comment_822865

Thanks for the great recommendations everyone!

I've noticed several people recommend the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary. Can someone tell me what makes this particular resource stand out above other Bible dictionaries? Also, as a pastor, it would be helpful to see an example of how you would use it in sermon prep so I can try to gauge its usefulness to me.

Jan Krohn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822845#Comment_822845

I don't have a working knowledge of the original languages.

https://www.logos.com/product/40499/greek-for-the-rest-of-us-2nd-ed

https://www.logos.com/product/34172/hebrew-for-the-rest-of-us

(Both on my wish list, and waiting for a good sale...)

Especially GRU has excellent reviews on Amazon.

Dan Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822884#Comment_822884

Looking at Luke 7:1-10 you might decide to focus on Jesus' healing and decide to look that up for a broader view of healing.

8688.Medicine and Healing.pdf

-Dan

Edwin Bowden

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822865#Comment_822865

For me Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary would be the first on my shopping list.

Also the ivp dictionary series is good. Its on sale at the moment.

https://www.logos.com/product/37742/the-ivp-bible-dictionary-series

I agree with these recommendations.

I also use the ISBE and the New International Encyclopedia of Biblical Words.

Pillar NTC

James C.

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822902#Comment_822902

Isbe, word, nicot, nicnt, college press, zondervan background commentaries.

Brandon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/822896#Comment_822896

I don't have a working knowledge of the original languages.

https://www.logos.com/product/40499/greek-for-the-rest-of-us-2nd-ed

https://www.logos.com/product/34172/hebrew-for-the-rest-of-us

(Both on my wish list, and waiting for a good sale...)

Especially GRU has excellent reviews on Amazon.

Thanks Jan I'll look into those for sure.

Matt Hamrick

Language: Lexham Hebrew Bible, SBLGNT, BDAG, HALOT, Lexham Theological Wordbook
Commentary: New Bible Commentary for my concise commentary. Then I use several different individual commentaries from different sets.

Dictionary: New Bible Dictionary for my concise dictionary. Then IVP, New Interpreter's Dictionary, and AYBD. I would not consider it my go to dictionary but find myself using the Lexham Bible Dictionary often.

The 30 days bible study challenge in Mobile Ed. They do the training on Matthew 4 but you can follow along for any text and it helps you use the software better.

My prioritized English bible is ESV, but I find myself in other translations frequently.

I use Wayne Grudem for Systematic Theology and Gregg Allison for Historical Theology. I am also a history buff so there is a church history bundle I use frequently and I have gotten other resources to study church history. I highly recommend the expansion bundles to help populate areas in the software when you run reports.

Greg Corbin

I am building my Logos library and trying to go for quality over quantity. I subscribe to Logos Cloud Plus and have been looking for good resources to build my library around. I'm a pastor who preaches regularly at a small church plant in SW Missouri.

I would like some feedback from the Logos community on certain resources that I should seek to own. What are your favorite go-to resources? Are there certain dictionaries, commentaries, bundles/collections that you highly recommend?

Brandon, I am also a pastor who prepares sermons weekly. In my opinion, the most "bang for your buck" that gives you both quality and quantity is to upgrade through the Standard Gold base package. The commentaries you get with the base packages through Gold are excellent - New American, Pillar, and the UBS Handbooks being the best. However, there are four older commentary sets included that are very good - Calvin, Black, Lenski, and Lange. You also get the Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible, several other good single volume dictionaries, and a host of original language tools.

After the resources you get in Gold, here are my recommendations that I have found most helpful as a busy pastor....

MacArhtur Study BibleZondervan NIV Study Bible

ISBE

Tyndale Commentaries (OT/NT)

Baker New Testament Commentary

Word Biblical Commentary

Expositor's Bible Commentary

Grudem's Systematic Theology

Erickson's Systematic Theology

The King in His Beauty by Thomas Schreiner (Biblical Theology)

As for Bundles - the preaching and sermons bundles are a good value - look for Spurgeon's sermons in the higher ones

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823250#Comment_823250

NRSV

NJB

NAB

Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary

Catechism of the Catholic Church (and books it references).

Dave Moser

Language & Word Study: Morph Search (Basically, do your own word study before consulting BDAG and HALOT)

Pastoral Care: Journal of Biblical Counseling and Journal of Modern Ministry I can't tell you how valuable these are for preaching.

Dictionaries: IVP Black Dictionaries

Commentaries: I tend to consult Carson and Longman to find the strongest technical, intermediate, and pastoral commentaries on whatever I'm preaching.

Theology: Bavinck and Turretin

Rod Bergen

I agree with most of the above but am surprised that no one has mentioned the Tim Keller sermon archive. It's right up there with John Piper.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823273#Comment_823273

I agree with most of the above but am surprised that no one has mentioned the Tim Keller sermon archive. It's right up there with John Piper.

If it was cheaper it'd be on my list, but too expensive at the moment. I will add Carson's sermons once they come out of prepub.

Everett Headley

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823273#Comment_823273

I agree with most of the above but am surprised that no one has mentioned the Tim Keller sermon archive. It's right up there with John Piper.

I'm not sure that I can say that Keller is just as good as Piper. I have found Piper to be much more helpful in structure and insight.

Matthew C Jones

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823273#Comment_823273

I agree with most of the above but am surprised that no one has mentioned the Tim Keller sermon archive. It's right up there with John Piper.

I value the Piper and Carson archives over Keller. Its just me.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823282#Comment_823282

I agree with most of the above but am surprised that no one has mentioned the Tim Keller sermon archive. It's right up there with John Piper.

I value the Piper and Carson archives over Keller. Its just me.

Same here. You do get more value with Piper and Carson for your money. I would even go as far as saying that Carson and Piper are better than Keller and McArthur combined, but that's just my personal opinion based on the few works I own from each individual.

DAL

Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823258#Comment_823258

NASB
Greek NT
Hebrew/Aramaic OT
BDAG/HALOT
Anchor dictionary / IVP dictionaries series
Word Biblical Commentaries

I know it's more than 5 but I would consider these the most essential and they are also the ones I use the most day in and day out.

A different list would be by type:

Modern languages Bibles
Ancient languages Bibles
Lexical resources
Bible Dictionaries (advanced rather than basic ones)
Commentaries
Essential Bible reference tools (Nave's, NTSK)
Theological dictionaries

Mike Childs

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823273#Comment_823273

I agree with most of the above but am surprised that no one has mentioned the Tim Keller sermon archive. It's right up there with John Piper.

Check the third post, page 1. I did mention it, and I agree that Keller is useful.

Francis

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823348#Comment_823348

I would advise against excessive dependence on any one author's thinking (such as may happen with sermon series or other extensive author collections). An author that becomes too big in your mind is either one who tells you what you want to hear, or one that becomes a substitute for developing your own ability to reach solid conclusions based on solid study, or worse, an idol. It is an opinion, for what it's worth, and I know that I will probably draw a wave of dissent and attempts at refutation. Nevertheless, I hope it can help you think through the kind of resources you need most.

Brandon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823272#Comment_823272

Pastoral Care: Journal of Biblical Counseling and Journal of Modern Ministry I can't tell you how valuable these are for preaching.

Thank you for the link you provided that shows how to make an application collection. This is extremely helpful. It makes me wonder, are there any other custom collections like this that would be helpful to appear in the guides? If so, can you include the search string?

Simon’s Brother

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823350#Comment_823350

I would advise against excessive dependence on any one author's thinking (such as may happen with sermon series or other extensive author collections). An author that becomes too big in your mind is either one who tells you what you want to hear, or one that becomes a substitute for developing your own ability to reach solid conclusions based on solid study, or worse, an idol. It is an opinion, for what it's worth, and I know that I will probably draw a wave of dissent and attempts at refutation. Nevertheless, I hope it can help you think through the kind of resources you need most.

This is solid advice Francis. We should read across authors, denominations and time periods - with our eyes wide open of course. The gospel was inspired to be written for us from four viewpoints, and we have epistles from multiple authors that emphasise different things and look at the same topic from different angles. and that's just the NT.

Friedrich

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823749#Comment_823749

DAL and a couple other have mentioned Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. I used it a lot. The Bible is full of images and each article gives you a big picture of a theme, which helps round out the Biblical worldview/theology. The articles/images gave me inspiration and creativeness for my sermons.

ISBE is a standard, "evangelical" encyclopedia with articles on everything from people to places to theology. It is a good place to start.

I agree with those who've encouraged you to get a good basic base package. Not sure if you want to go with a particular theological bent (ie, Pentecostal, Wesleyan etc) or just "Standard." But you get quality resources for a good price. You might tally up some of the resources people have mentioned and see which of them might be either in a base package or bundle (notice on the right of a product page it will often say: "this title is included . . ." such as ISBE (1979--) is in the "timeline collection" and Wesleyan or Reformed Gold, among others)

It's somewhat about particular resources as it is "types" of resources. For instance, I might like ISBE and AYDB (each has a slant and strength), but what I need for sure is a decent encyclopedia and bible dictionary set. I found these general tools standard go tos in ministry and sermon prep:

1. Bible/Concordance

2. Bible Encyclopedia/Dictionary

3. Commentary set (varying mixes of quality, practicality, affordability, depth)

4. Dictionary of Theological Terms (always encountering words in my commentaries and dictionaries that I did not know/remember)

5 Good Atlas

6. Counseling set/series

Don't know if it has been mentioned, but I LOVED Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Well written articles that explained theology and thinkers.

Brandon

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/823755#Comment_823755

DAL and a couple other have mentioned Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. I used it a lot. The Bible is full of images and each article gives you a big picture of a theme, which helps round out the Biblical worldview/theology. The articles/images gave me inspiration and creativeness for my sermons.

ISBE is a standard, "evangelical" encyclopedia with articles on everything from people to places to theology. It is a good place to start.

I agree with those who've encouraged you to get a good basic base package. Not sure if you want to go with a particular theological bent (ie, Pentecostal, Wesleyan etc) or just "Standard." But you get quality resources for a good price. You might tally up some of the resources people have mentioned and see which of them might be either in a base package or bundle (notice on the right of a product page it will often say: "this title is included . . ." such as ISBE (1979--) is in the "timeline collection" and Wesleyan or Reformed Gold, among others)

It's somewhat about particular resources as it is "types" of resources. For instance, I might like ISBE and AYDB (each has a slant and strength), but what I need for sure is a decent encyclopedia and bible dictionary set. I found these general tools standard go tos in ministry and sermon prep:

1. Bible/Concordance

2. Bible Encyclopedia/Dictionary

3. Commentary set (varying mixes of quality, practicality, affordability, depth)

4. Dictionary of Theological Terms (always encountering words in my commentaries and dictionaries that I did not know/remember)

5 Good Atlas

6. Counseling set/series

Don't know if it has been mentioned, but I LOVED Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Well written articles that explained theology and thinkers.

Thank you Friedrich that is very helpful.

And thank you everyone for quality responses. Transitioning to Logos can be daunting at first but this community has made it much easier.