Logos 9 is Here!

Although there are numerous new features for all who love using Logos for Bible study, Logos 9 is especially pastor friendly. I will list a few of the new features below, but if I was asked to summarize the biggest changes in Logos 9 it would include the expansion of the Factbook, the new Sermon Builder and Sermon Manager tools, and the new Counseling Guide. We will look briefly at each of these first.

The New Factbook

Using Factbook — Typing in Samuel in the “Go” box reveals a number of options, including the use of Factbook.

FactBook has been updated and now has about ten times the information of previous versions. Now you can enter a passage, person, topic, etc. into the “Go” box and the dropdown list will provide Factbook as one of the options, as seen in the screenshot above. (I know the pictures are small so feel free to zoom in on the screenshots). 🙂

Choosing the person Samuel results in the Factbook opening to a page with a multitude of resources and basic information to get you started on your character study. The screenshot doesn’t do justice to the various categories available such as media, key passages, events, various Bible dictionary articles, journals, sermons, guides, and workflows. Basic information is also provided on the key events of Samuel’s life.

Sermon Builder and Sermon Manager

What used to be called the Sermon Editor is now called the Sermon Builder. It can be found in the Tools menu. Logos 9 greatly enhances the ability to plan, create, preach, and store all of your sermons. Below I have listed several screen shots. The first demonstrates how to access Sermon Builder, while the second and third show the various features available.

By the way, notice that Dark mode is now available in Logos 9. The following screenshots are in Dark mode which can be accessed by clicking on the 3 vertical dots in the upper righthand corner of the screen. To enable this feature, you have to choose Dark Mode, quit Logos and then start it again. This is cumbersome. It would be nice if the feature automatically switched, or if Logos had a restart button rather than having to quit and restart Logos. Back now to the Sermon Builder!

Logos 9 Sermon Builder — This screen shows some of the options available in Sermon Builder.

In the second screenshot, you will notice that on the righthand side, the Sermon Builder gives you the option of creating a new sermon layout, or using a previously saved template. Below that is information that can be filled in to provide information when storing the sermon. If this sermon is part of a series, you can put in the name of the series, the topic, the passage(s), etc.

In this last screenshot of the Sermon Builder, notice that you can input the date, church or location, and time the message was preached. I love this feature because if you speak at a number of different venues and churches, you never need worry about whether you are repeating a sermon you have taught before! On the left side of the screen is where you develop the sermon. One of the features I really like is how powerpoint slides are automatically added for each point! When you’re finished building your sermon, all you do is hit “Preach” in the upper box and you’re ready to go. In Preach mode you even have a built in timer to keep your sermon on schedule!

The Sermon Manager is another nice feature in Logos 9 for organizing your messages and series, and being able to easily find them later. I have not provided a screenshot, however, because I have to confess a little frustration with this feature. I built an example to make a screenshot of Sermon Manager. I put in some information for some make believe sermons, but then I ran into trouble. When I tried to correct a mistake, I couldn’t find a way to delete anything. In fact, I tried to delete the entire example because they are not sermons I have preached and I couldn’t find a way to delete them. I went to the “Help” file only to find that Logos 9 does not include any information on the Sermon Builder or Sermon Manager! The only information on sermons is under “Sermon Document,” which pertains to the old Logos 8 feature. So I’m left frustrated at the moment with how to use this feature and how to delete mistakes.

The Counseling Guide

As the demo for Logos 9 points out, the Counseling Guide won’t make you a counselor, but it is designed to help the busy pastor with resources and guidance. Logos 9 not only provides this Counseling Guide, but, depending on your version, it also provides a large counseling library. Below is a snapshot of the Counseling Guide. I have typed in the topic of depression as an example. (You’ll notice I’ve switched back to the Light screen).

The screenshot below demonstrates that scrolling down the page of the Counseling Guide reveals some resources pertaining to depression that are included in certain versions of Logos 9.

Counseling resources in Logos 9 — Examples of some of the counseling resources available in Logos 9.

Other Features and Benefits of Logos 9

As noted at the top of this post, I have sought to focus on three of the main new features in Logos 9, but there are many more. I will give just two more brief examples. A minor feature, but one that I like a lot, is the ability to view your commentaries categorized in various ways. In the screenshot below, I have typed Psalm 60 into the “Go” box and then chosen “Passage Guide.” On the left where the commentaries are listed, you will notice that there are now various categories such as “Priority,” “Series,” “Author,” etc. In the example, I have selected “Type” and from the drop down list I have selected “Exegetical,” which shows me all the Psalms commentaries in my library that fit that category.

Commentary categories — Note the various commentary categories for view in Logos 9.

Finally I will mention that, as always, an update with Logos comes with a host of new books for your Library. I will note that my version of Logos 9 is Gold, so those with other versions will have libraries that vary. The Gold version includes an extensive counseling library, as I have already mentioned, including a 10 volume commentary series by well-known counselor Jay Adams. I am particularly excited that Lexham Press has produced Lexicons of the Hebrew, Aramaic, Septuagint and Greek. These Lexicons are a gold mine and differ from other Lexicons as they break down word meaning and usage according to various passages in the Bible. I am also excited about the new Atlases available with Logos 9 which includes the Carta Bible Atlas, Carta’s Historical Atlas of Jerusalem, The Sacred Bridge: Carta’s Atlas of the Biblical World, and others. The Gold version also includes Lexham’s Context Commentary (3 vols. on the NT and 1 vol. on the OT). Besides these and many other volumes, Logos 9 comes with numerous updated data sets and interactive media.

Evaluation of Logos 9

Overall I am very pleased with Logos’s latest update. As noted above, I believe pastors (and teachers) will find it especially helpful. There are a few bugs to be worked out, but this is true of any new update. Now is a great time to purchase Logos 9 as Logos is offering a 15% discount on all of its packages. Click on the link below, browse and choose the package that works best for you!