Category Archives: Logos Products Reviewed

Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library

January 26, 2026 randymccracken Leave a comment

Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library

In my last post I announced Logos’s introduction of their new 2026 library and gave a general overview of some features. In this post, I want to focus on the Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library which I currently own.

Help For Translators in Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library

This series is included in the Logos 2026 Gold Researchers Library.

There are 171 commentaries included in the Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library. One of the best series is the United Bible Society (UBS) Handbook series on both the OT and the NT. These volumes provide insight into the original languages, along with practical advice about how to translate into other modern languages. Also included are 14 volumes of Classic commentaries on the Greek NT. Although these are a bit older, they include the insights of important scholars of the past such as B.F. Westcott and J.B. Lightfoot. The International Critical Commentary on the OT and NT is also a part of this collection. This series includes older and newer volumes. Although this is not my “go to” series, because of its Higher Criticism approach, it does include important scholarship and focuses on examining the original text. One of the intriguing new commentary series offered here is the Illuminations Commentary. According to the description on Logos, “The Illuminations Commentary Series is an innovative resource for all who are interested in engaging the Bible in depth. The author of each volume employs the full range of biblical scholarship to illumine the text from a wide variety of perspectives, including the engagement and impact of the text through the centuries.” Currently only 3 volumes are available (Jonah, Micah, and Job 1-21). I look forward to exploring these volumes.

Hebrew and Greek Texts and Grammars in Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library

Included in the Logos 2026 Gold Researchers Library

For researchers, as well as translators and advanced students, the Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library has a good number of Greek and Hebrew resources. The following description is just a sample of what is available. Texts include a copy of Codex Sinaiticus (!), as well as a few Greek New Testaments. For Old Testament study in Greek, Rahlfs Septuagint is also included. For Hebrew OT studies, a copy of BHS is included, as well as an “Introduction to the Hebrew Bible,” by John J. Collins and “The Parallel Aligned Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Texts of Hebrew Scripture,” by renowned textual scholar Emmanuel Tov. Various Greek grammars (e.g., Louw & Nida), Metzger’s “Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament,” and 2 Theological Word Dictionaries (one being an abridged volume of TDNTA) are also included. There are 4 Hebrew grammars, as well as 3 Hebrew dictionaries. The final resource to mention in this category is the 11 volumes of the “Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics” Journal (issues from 2012-2023).

My Favorite Aspects of the Logos 2026 Gold Researcher Library

Several volumes of the LNTS are included in the Logos 2026 Gold Research Library.

Although I am excited about the commentary and Greek and Hebrew resources, there are 2 other aspects of this library that are my favorite. The first is a collection of the “Studies in Scripture & Biblical Theology,” by Lexham Press. This includes OT and NT volumes. In the OT this includes such titles as “Evil in Genesis: A Contextual Analysis of Hebrew Lexemes for Evil in the Book of Genesis,” and “Reading the Psalms Theologically,” to name only two. The NT includes “The Word of God Has Not Failed: Paul’s Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9,” and others. Also included are a number of volumes in the LHBOTS (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies), and the LNTS (Library of New Testament Studies). Clicking any of the links in this post will take you to the page where you can compare and contrast libraries if you interested in more of the specific selections. A second favorite aspect of this collection for me are the many resources related to the Second Temple Period (some refer to it as New Testament Backgrounds). There are a number of works related to the Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha as well as an 8-volume work on the writings of Josephus.

Conclusion

If you are interested in building your Logos Library, now is a good time to do it. The sale lasts until February 15th. Gold is a good library to start with for those who are looking for more in-depth Bible study. It doesn’t matter whether you choose the Standard, a Denominational package, or the Researcher one I have chosen here. If your budget can’t quite handle the Gold package, or if you’re looking for a more general bible study experience, then certainly the Bronze or Silver packages can get you started. As you can tell by perusing my web site, I am a huge Logos fan and believe it is the best tool available today for in-depth bible study

(Thanks to Logos who provided a copy of this library in exchange for an unbiased review).

Logos Products Reviewed

Logos 2026 Libraries

January 22, 2026 randymccracken Leave a comment

Logos 2026 Libraries

The New Year brings fresh starts and that’s also true for those who love Logos Bible Software. This year a Bible software program that just keeps getting better, is introducing the Logos 2026 libraries. Over the next few weeks these libraries are on sale for a 20% discount. If you are new to Logos, the best way to build valuable resources is to purchase a library. You will receive more books at a reduced cost than you could ever pay for individually. Seasoned Logos users are well aware of the value of these libraries. This post will introduce readers to some of the various options available this year, while focusing on my review of the latest library I have obtained. Seasoned Logos users who are very familiar with Logos libraries may want to skip down to my review of the current 2026 library I am focusing on (see Logos 2026 library: Researches Gold below).

The Variety of Logos 2026 Libraries

Over the years Logos has grown its libraries to include various specialties. The common library is known as the “Standard” library. This library includes a well-rounded selection of books including Bibles, commentaries, Old Testament and New Testament studies, biblical theology, maps and atlases, biblical languages, devotionals, journals, and counseling, to name a few. Libraries are based on size and begin with a Starter library and graduate to Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Portfolio, and the granddaddy of them all, the Collector’s edition. If a user desires to have a more specialized collection they can browse the categories of Traditions (focused on various denominations such as Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, etc.), Learner (great for students), Leader (for elders, bible study leaders, etc.), Preacher (needs no explanation), and Researcher (for the teacher or academic).

Logos 2026 Library: Researchers Gold

I have purchased a number of the Standard libraries over the years. Being a teacher at a Bible College, however, I have focused on the Research libraries the last couple of years. The Researchers Gold Library is a good starting point for Teachers and Academics. As with all libraries, cost varies depending on how many of the items you already own in your library. Researchers Gold comes with 16 Bibles, 171 commentaries, 2 Bible dictionaries, and 1 dictionary of theological terms, 25 OT studies and 24 NT studies, and 6 classified as Biblical studies resources. There is an emphasis on original language studies including 24 Greek resources (grammars, bibles, original texts) and 17 Hebrew resources. This library is not only helpful to the scholar, but includes valuable resources for those translating the original languages into modern foreign languages. In my next post, I will give a more detailed description of some of the resources available in this library.

Check out the sale on the Logos 2026 libraries and receive an extra 20% off.

(Thanks to Logos who provided a copy of this library in exchange for an unbiased review).

Logos Products Reviewed

Logos 10: My Favorite New Features

October 31, 2022 randymccracken 3 Comments

Logos 10: My Favorite New Features

As some of you may be aware, Logos just launched the newest version of its popular Bible Study software program on 10/10/22. Logos 10 is here! As with every upgrade, Logos 10 adds new features to an already powerful way to study the Bible. If you read on, I’ll list the newest features pointing out three of my favorites. The links on this page will also entitle new Logos users to a 15% discount off any package plus 5 free extra books out of a list of 30. If you’re already a Logos user then by using one of the links on this page you can receive a 30% discount on any upgrade, plus the same choice of 5 extra free books is also yours! (Offer good until Christmas 2022!) If Logos is brand new to you and you would like a general introduction to it see my article here.

The Newest Features Available on Logos 10

The slogan for Logos 10 is “Live in the Word.” The object is to keep Scripture at the center where it belongs. The new features include:

Advanced Searching–one of the powerful uses of Logos has always been its search capabilities, whether in the Bible or other books in your library. The search feature is now even more powerful and simple to use.
Searching your Print Books–now you can tell Logos what books you have in your physical library. If the book exists in Logos you can use Logos’s searching capabilities to locate something on a particular page.
Expanded Timeline–the Timeline now has extra features including being able to focus on a particular individual, historical period, or theme.
More pop ups with more information–Logos 10 has added 10s of millions of informational tags. Just hover over a word to bring up extra information!
Translation–you can now choose a passage from a book that is in a language you don’t know and Logos will translate it for you!
All your sermons in one spot–If your sermons are in a Word Document format, you can now add them to Logos and keep them in Sermon Manager.
Finding Quotes–If you’re looking for a quote on a certain topic or idea, Logos now allows you to search from thousands of quotes. You don’t even have to have the book! Logos 10 will give you access to the quote, tell you who said it, and what resource it came from!
Toolbar–the location of the Toolbar has changed in Logos 10. It is now on the left side. If you don’t like it there, it can be moved to the top (its more traditional position). The tool bar now has new icons such as the search feature, and the preferred Bible icon. The Toolbar can also be minimized so that more room is available on the screen to see the books you have opened.
Speed!–Logos 10 is much faster than previous versions!
Church History–This feature helps people to understand doctrines in their historical context. There are dozens of new pages in the FactBook tracing various themes.

Favorite Features of Mine

Everyone is going to like/use certain features in Logos 10 more than others. Below are 3 of my favorites.

The Translation Tool

As noted above, Logos now includes the ability to translate from and into various languages. For example, if your primary language is English you may want to read a paragraph that’s in German or Latin. It’s no problem now in Logos. Just enable the translator tool and you can scroll through the document getting a side by side translation, or you can highlight a given sentence or paragraph and get a translation of that portion of the text. In the screenshot above I have the English text of Genesis 18 on the left with a German translation on the right. All that’s necessary is to click on the box that says to open or close sidebar (see picture above), then choose the language you want.

Adding Previous Sermons to Sermon Manager

If you have sermons that you didn’t create in Logos, now they can be put into Logos. The only requirement necessary is that it be a Word doc. In the example above, I have opened Sermon Manager and added previous sermons of mine by clicking the “Add” button in the upper right (in blue), choosing the sermon and importing it into Logos.

Searching Print Books

Print library in Logos 10 — This screen shot shows the print books I have added to my Logos library. In the filter column I chose “Print Library.” I can now search any or all of these resources.

One of the nice features of any version of Logos is being able to search any book you have in your Logos library and find what you’re looking for in an instant. Now in Logos 10 you can do the same with your print library! Instead of thumbing through a book on your bookshelf looking for that particular quote you know is in there somewhere, you can now do it with Logos even if the book isn’t in your Logos library. Just go to your library in Logos, add the book to your “Print books,” and then you can do a search to find the quote you’re looking for.

To see the original video by FaithLife announcing Logos 10 and reviewing its features, click here.

If you would like to take advantage of the Logos 10 sale click this link or the links above.

(Many thanks to Logos for a free upgrade to Logos 10 in exchange for this review. I was not required to give a positive review).

Logos Products Reviewed

Logos 9 Six Months Later: A Review

May 5, 2021 randymccracken Leave a comment

Logos 9 Six Months Later: A Review

Logos 9 Packages — Save 15% on Logos Packages until June 15th 2021. Use the link here to purchase a Logos package or to upgrade. Read my post below on how I’m doing with Logos 9 after six months.

A little over six months ago Logos announced it’s latest upgrade. The folks at Faithlife/Logos wanted to know how I was doing with Logos 9 six months later. Among the new features, what have I found the most helpful? What features am I not using? In short, how am I getting along with Logos 9 six months later? When Logos 9 launched in October 2020, I wrote a review mentioning its main features, such as the FactBook, Sermon Builder and Manager, and Counseling Guide (see the review here) . In this review I’ll look at some of the smaller features I’ve found helpful, as well as note how I’m doing with some of the larger features.

Smaller Features of Logos 9

Reading Plans

Reading plans is definitely a new feature that I’ve enjoyed. Rather than have to hunt through my Logos library for a book I’m reading, I love the fact that I can put it right on my desktop. More than that, I love how it keeps track of where I’m at. Although all of my reading to this point has been personal, I like the fact that the reading plan also provides a way for a group to read the same book together.

When you select a book for your reading plan, a card appears on your Logos desktop. One click allows you to pick up where you left off. The reading plan card can be seen in the screenshot below in the middle bottom column. (Feel free to zoom in on all screenshots).

In the next screenshot, you’ll see what the reading plan looks like on the inside. On the left is the current chapter of the book I’m reading. The top right provides a section for taking notes, while the bottom right charts my progress as I read through the book.

Shortcuts

While Logos has always had shortcuts which can be made by pasting things to the top of the menu, I like the new feature that allows you to add folders. Instead of cluttering the top of your menu with many different items, you can keep similar items in a folder. As you’ll see in the example below, I’ve put a number of my favorite Bibles together in a Bible folder. Rather than search my library for a particular Bible, or use the parallel resources button if I want to use a Bible besides my ESV, I can now click on the folder and choose from my favorite Bibles.

Of course you could also make a file with your favorite Bible Dictionaries, Grammars, Commentaries, Atlases, etc. If you look again at the screenshot above you will also notice an up and a down arrow in the menu. The arrows allow me to magnify or decrease the magnification of what I’m reading. I don’t know that this is a new shortcut, but thought I’d point out that this is a handy shortcut to have on your menu bar.

Bible Books Explorer

I will admit that this is one of the new features I haven’t spent a lot of time with yet, but I want to. If someone is looking for some basic information about a biblical book, this is a good place to start. If you’re looking for the kind of genre, who the author is, when the book was written, etc. you can find that information here. The Bible Books Explorer also links to the FactBook for more information on a particular person or topic. The Bible Books Explorer is found in the Tools menu. I have posted 2 screenshots below. The first shows the opening page of the Bible Books Explorer. The second shows some of the information available simply by clicking on one of the books. I’ve used the Book of Genesis for this illustration.

The Main Features in Logos 9 Six Months Later

The FactBook

One of the features that the creators at Faithlife/Logos seemed most excited about was the expansion of the FactBook. Although it existed in earlier editions of Logos, the FactBook was designed in Logos 9 to be the main go-to site when beginning the study of anything (person, topic, Bible passage, etc.). I think Faithlife is to be congratulated on this one as I’ve found the FactBook to be a gold mine of information. The FactBook also provides links to the other important guides in Logos such as the Passage guide and the Exegetical guide (which remain favorites of mine).

The Counseling Guide

As a Bible college teacher I consider it a sacred trust to disciple and counsel my students. COVID 19 has certainly changed my normal interaction with students over the past year. Therefore, I haven’t engaged in much one on one counseling. As a result, I haven’t used the Counseling Guide and so I cannot offer any further evaluation of it. It’s good to know I have it available should the need arise, although a lot of my counseling is better described as discipleship and usually involves discussing biblical topics and passages or praying with students. The deeper issues tend to be dealt with by our Dean of Men and Dean of Women. For pastors and those in the counseling profession, I would expect that this feature is more valuable than it has proven to be to me personally.

Sermon Starter, Sermon Builder and Sermon Manager

Because I am not a full-time pastor, I do not preach on a regular basis. When I am asked to preach, I usually have a limited time to prepare. I use the FactBook, the Passage Guide, and the Exegetical Guide in my preparation, as noted above. I believe the Sermon Builder would be a wonderful tool, but to this point I have not taken the time to learn how to use it. Some people pick up on things quickly. I’m definitely a slow prodder and it takes me awhile to catch on and therefore I have not utilized these tools.

I recently watched a free webinar by Morris Proctor on the Sermon Starter Guide. I found his demonstration on how to use the Sermon Starter Guide, very helpful. I’m sure I will utilize it in the future when I am struggling with how to begin and flesh out a sermon. As Proctor points out, these tools (i.e., the various Sermon Guides) are not just for pastors. They can help Sunday School teachers, and Bible study leaders of small groups. I’m sure they would be helpful for a Bible College Teacher as well, but at times it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks! While I always attempt to stay fresh with my research and approach, I already have a multitude of notes and powerpoints that I use in my presentations. Therefore, it’s been more difficult for me to be motivated to try something new. The great thing about Logos is that there are many different ways to approach Bible study and the various guides are helpful when it comes to finding out what works best for each person.

Conclusion

So how am I doing with Logos 9 after six months? I would answer that I am as happy as ever with my Logos Bible software. As noted above, I have actually found some of the smaller features more to my liking than some of the larger features. This has more to do with my comfort level of using familiar features in Logos than it has to do with any shortcoming of the new features. If you are a Logos 9 user and have made it to this point in the post, I would love to hear in the comments what you think of some of the new features of Logos 9, how they have helped you, frustrated you, and what advice you might have for incorporating some of these new features into a daily Bible study routine?

I have not taken the time to explain the step-by-step method of how to access and use the features mentioned above. What has proven the most helpful way for me to learn about these features and how to use them is the Logos free training videos. I have provided a link below where you can watch videos on all the new features of Logos 9.

A friend of mine commented on how we only utilize a small portion of our brain’s capacity and it seems to be the same with our use of Logos. This is definitely true in my case, and many others I know. Hopefully six months from now, we’ll all be more proficient in various aspects of Logos 9 as we learn together how to use this powerful software to study and teach God’s Word.

Free Tutorials on the various features of Logos 9.

Use this link to get 15% off through June 15th on a new Logos Base Package or Upgrade.

(This review reflects my own opinions. I was not obligated by Faithlife/Logos to offer any specific evaluation.)

Logos Products Reviewed

Logos 9 is Here!

October 27, 2020 randymccracken Leave a comment

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!