Enhance Your Sermon Prep with the Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary

| Tue, February 5, 2013 | Products

HomileticPreparing a sermon ought to be a weighty matter. After all, God has entrusted us with “the gospel of glory” (1 Ti. 1:11) that we might grow and feed the people of God. One of our passions at Logos is giving you the tools and resources you need to faithfully expound the Word of God, and the Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary (38 vols.) on Community Pricing will be a great help.

The Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary was written to aid you in sermon preparation. Its 30 authors walk you through each passage in 55 books of the Bible, giving you expository insight and wisdom from a variety of thinkers, theologians, and pastors.

All 38 volumes are currently on Community Pricing, where you can bid what you’d be willing to pay. The current successful bid of $40 is only a few dollars more than what this entire collection sold for when this was originally published in 1892!

What Logos Users are Saying

“More spiritual insights, life applications, and quotable anecdotes than I have ever seen elsewhere in one set. This ‘buried treasure’ is like finding ‘gold nuggets of wisdom’ from the best preachers of yesteryear—this can change the lives of people today!”

“This has been one of my go-to sermon sets for years and years! I would love to see this on Logos!”

“This set is excellent for any pastor. Lots and lots of helps with expository preaching. Every young pastor needs this set. I can promise you that it will be dollars well spent.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to save 93% on a terrific commentary set, perfect for preaching, Bible study, and devotions alike—place your bid today!

It’s Time: You Won’t Get This Deal Again

| Thu, January 31, 2013 | Products

Logos Base PackagesThis is it, folks: after Monday, the introductory upgrade deals available for Logos 5 will be gone forever.

Now is the time to upgrade. If you don’t upgrade now, you’re just leaving savings on the table. But if you do upgrade today, you’ll get the very best deal on Logos 5 you can.

And the biggest savings go to those who get our biggest, best base packages: Portfolio and Diamond.

Portfolio: Best Package, Best Deal

It’s the largest, most robust base package we could put together. The Logos 5 team hand-picked the books that went into Portfolio—it’s a master library with master tools. There are lots of reasons it’s awesome, but here’s a short overview:

  • 2,585 resources—up from 1,669 resources in the Logos 4 version
  • A $78,000 value—up from $31,000 in Logos 4
  • All Logos 5 features
  • 18-month payment-plan option

If you’ve had your eye on Portfolio for a while, skip the rest of this post and get it now—you won’t have another chance to get this introductory deal on it!

Diamond2Diamond: a Smart New Upgrade Level

Second only to Portfolio, Diamond is for people who won’t settle for a puny library, but want to keep their bills low. It’s a solid upgrade choice that gives you lots of good stuff:

  • 2,028 resources—a library that would cost $52,500 in print!
  • All Logos 5 features
  • 18-month payment-plan option

Wish You’d Upgraded to Diamond or Portfolio?

You might be thinking, “Boy—I got Logos 5, but now I wish I’d upgraded to Diamond or Portfolio instead. Those savings are top-notch!”

Don’t worry: we’ll fix you up with the library (and corresponding savings) you really want. But this offer ends Monday, too.

Time’s Running Out: Save Right Now

You’ve heard about our introductory discounts, but here’s a refresher: you can save up to 25% when you upgrade to Logos 5. We’ll calculate a custom upgrade discount for you based on the library you already own (so you don’t pay for any books twice).

The time is now: once the introductory sale is over, it’s over. Get the best deal and upgrade to Logos 5 before it’s too late.

Kutless: “We Love Logos 5”

| Sat, January 26, 2013 | Products

One of the perks of working at Logos is you never know who you’re going to run into in the hallways. Recently bestselling artists Kutless dropped in for a tour of the Logos campus.

It’s pretty fun to have high-profile visitors drop by, but it’s even more exciting when they’re just as enthusiastic about what we do as we are! Here’s Kutless’ Jon Micah Sumrall discussing the ways Logos 5 helps him dig into the Word and share it.

Logos 5 will revolutionize your Bible study

If you feel that your Bible study has plateaued, it’s time to look into Logos 5. With a base package, you’ll:

Our sales team is here to take your calls

Have a few questions? Want to talk to a real live person? Our sales team is here today (Saturday, January 26) from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. (PST). Give us a call at 1-800-875-6467.

Or call us:

  • 6:00 a.m–9:00 p.m. (PST) January 28–February 1
  • 6:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. (PST) February 2
  • 6:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. (PST) February 4

Upgrade now and save!

Our introductory discounts run through February 4. With only a little while left to save big on a base package, now’s the time to get Logos 5. Check out our Custom Upgrade Discount Calculator to see how big a discount you qualify for—it might be bigger than you think.

Upgrade to Logos 5 today!

What’s a Lemma, and How’s It Used in Bible Study?

| Fri, January 25, 2013 | Products, Training

The word “lemma” shows up everywhere in original-language books and tools, including Logos 5 features—but what is a lemma?

Lemma

Obviously, it’s a key concept when it comes to digging deeper in Bible study.

So What Is a Lemma, Anyway?

A lemma is the dictionary term for the word you’re looking up. If you were to look up the word “jumping” in an English dictionary, you wouldn’t find it as a headword. What you would find is “jump,” the word that represents “jump,” “jumping,” “jumped,” and “jumps.” In this case “jump” is the lemma.

What’s So Important about Lemmas in Bible Study?

Because Logos ties biblical words to their lemmas, you can search the Bible by a word’s meaning, not just by the word itself.

For example, let’s say I’m studying Mark 4:35–41. In this passage, Jesus and his disciples set sail across the Sea of Galilee. A violent storm arises and threatens to sink the boat. Jesus then says to the wind and sea, “Hush, be still” (NASB), and the storm immediately calms.

The word “hush” in verse 39 is interesting to me, probably because other translations (like the ESV and KJV) use the word “peace” instead. I wonder, “how is this word used in the rest of the New Testament?” I have my Reverse Interlinear panel open in Logos 5, so I see two Greek words listed under “hush.”

Lemma II

But if I look up the lemma, I can find all the different forms tied to the lemma. I can right-click the word “hush,” and run a Bible Word Study report on the lemma right from my Bible . . .

Lemma III

. . . and see the verb used in six different ways across the New Testament!

Lemma IV

 

A lemma is the basic dictionary form of the word you’re interested in, and it’s your ticket to a deeper understanding of the text you’re studying.

Upgrade to Logos 5 now!

With Logos 5, you have the most cutting-edge features available for Bible study. Upgrade now and see how you can take your word studies to the next level. But hurry—introductory discounts expire February 4.

Free Greek and Latin Manuscripts on Pre-Pub

| Thu, January 24, 2013 | Products

We’re happy to announce that you can pre-order Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis for free!

Theodore Beza, John Calvin’s successor as leader of the Genevan church, first presented this uncial codex to the library at the University of Cambridge (Cantabrigia in Latin, from which the latter part of the codex’s name originated) in 1581. Believed to have been penned in the late or early fourth and fifth century, Codex Bezae contains the four Gospels, Acts, and the last several verses of 3 John. It is a unique manuscript with many peculiarities, from the license taken in adding, rephrasing, and omitting portions of text to the fact that it contains both Greek and Latin text, arranged in “sense-lines” and facing each other on opposite pages.

Important and Unique

Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, Matthew 11:10-21

This important text has played a fascinating role in textual criticism and canonical studies. It is the oldest-known manuscript containing the story of the adulterous woman
found in John 7–8, as well as a longer ending of the Gospel of Mark. There are also several apparent additions, including a story found nowhere else of Jesus addressing a man found working on the Sabbath. For centuries, scholars have been intrigued by this manuscript’s implications and the information it gives about the written culture of fourth- and fifth-century Christianity.

Powerful in Logos

With Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis in Logos, you have a powerful combination—not only because of the numerous grammars, journal articles, apparatuses, and commentaries that reference this resource, but also because of Logos’ powerful search capabilities, and the original-language tools and resources at your fingertips.

Whether you’re interested in the history of translation and early Christianity or you’re a veteran of textual criticism, this free resource will make a valuable addition to your Logos library. Don’t miss this chance to get a digital edition of this historical manuscript for free—pre-order Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis today at no cost!

Why You Shouldn’t Wait until Logos 6 to Upgrade

| Tue, January 22, 2013 | Products

The wait is over: Logos 6 is here! Get it today at Logos.com/6.

* * *

Logos Base PackagesWith many products, it makes sense not to upgrade with each new version that comes out. Whether it’s phones, tablets, or software, most people don’t need to upgrade to every new version.

As an owner of Adobe’s Creative Suite, I’ve often had to wrestle with the question of whether to upgrade or sit out a round. The only thing I miss out on if I skip a version is the use of the new features for the next year or two. When the next version comes out, I’ll get all the new features from both versions. I’ll have the same set of tools as the person who upgrades with each new version.

Some of you may be approaching upgrading to Logos 5 this way. On the surface, it seems like a good way to save some money. And while it makes sense in a lot of categories, I’d like to explain why it doesn’t make sense with our base packages.

In most cases, new products exclusively build on top of, add to, and improve old ones. They get thinner, lighter, faster, more space, longer battery life, more features, etc. When products merely add to the ones they replace, you can often get by fine with upgrading every other release cycle—assuming the new features aren’t essential for you to have right away.

But Logos base packages don’t work that way. We certainly add many new features, datasets, and books with each new release. But in order to make room for all the new books we add, we also take many books out. We do this for several reasons. Sometimes we just want to freshen our packages up so people who upgrade can add more new books to their libraries. Other times publishers request to have their content removed and want to try selling it individually.

Regardless of the reasons, the result is that each new generation of base packages provides a one-time opportunity to pick up thousands of dollars of content for about ten cents on the dollar.

Let me illustrate with Logos 4. People who sat out and didn’t upgrade to Logos 4 missed out on the opportunity to get the following content at base package prices:

Books Vols. Standalone Base Package
Semeia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism 91 $49.95 ~$5.00
A. W. Pink Collection 40 $249.95 ~$25.00
Berkouwer’s Studies in Dogmatics 14 $329.95 ~$33.00
Pillar New Testament Commentary 8 $249.95 ~$25.00
The Encyclopedia of Christianity: Volumes 1–4 4 $289.95 ~$29.00
Great Doctrines of the Bible 3 $29.95 ~$3.00
Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament 3 $139.95 ~$14.00
Wuest’s Word Studies & Wuest’s Expanded NT 2 $75.95 ~$7.60
A Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians 2 $49.95 ~$5.00
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament 1 $49.95 ~$5.00
Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible 1 $45.00 ~$4.50
Bible History: Old Testament 1 $29.95 ~$3.00
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament 1 $59.95 ~$6.00
The Teacher’s Bible Commentary 1 $50.00 ~$5.00
Totals 182 $1,700.40 ~$170.04

You could have purchased Logos 4 Platinum for less than it would cost you to just purchase these 14 selections at Logos.com prices (not to mention the more than 170 other volumes removed from Platinum). If this is content you’d ever want to buy, it certainly makes sense not to have skipped upgrading to Logos 4. In total, we removed over $6,400 worth of content from base package libraries. The same thing will be true with a different set of content in Logos 5 when the next version comes out.

Get Logos 5 now!

Act now and get thousands of dollars’ worth of books at a fraction of their Logos.com prices. This content might not be available in the next iteration of our software. It’s not too late to get an incredible deal on a Logos 5 upgrade, but you have to act soon. Our introductory discounts end February 4. Upgrade now!

Win Logos 5, an iPad Mini, and Books by Eric Metaxas!

| Mon, January 21, 2013 | Misc., Products

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Bonhoeffer Tour, featuring New York Times bestselling author Eric Metaxas, begins February 8 in Williamsville, NY. To kick off this nationwide tour, Logos has partnered with Thomas Nelson, GototheHub.com, and Food for the Hungry to give you the chance to win Logos 5 Gold, an iPad Mini, and Vyrso editions of Metaxas’ Bonhoeffer and Seven Men!

iPadminiDietrich Bonhoeffer, a committed pacifist, left his native Germany in 1939 to avoid conscription, which would have entailed swearing an oath to Hitler and fighting in his army. He came to think of that decision as a sort of flight; after just four weeks, he returned to Germany on the last steamer to make the crossing. There he contributed bravely to the resistance; eventually captured, he was hanged on April 9, 1945. Bonhoeffer presents this remarkably orthodox theologian’s profound moral courage and extraordinary faith.

Seven Men profiles Bonhoeffer, George Washington, William Wilberforce, Eric Liddell, Jackie Robinson, John Paul II, and Charles Colson. Metaxas asks: What does it look like to—as a leader, father, brother, husband, coach, counselor, change agent, or wise man—be a true role model?

Pick up Bonhoeffer and pre-order Seven Men today!

Entry closes April 6, and we’ll select the winner April 8. If you win and you already own Logos 5, Bonhoeffer, and/or Seven Men, you’ll get Logos.com credit in place of the prizes.

Enter now!

It’s time to upgrade to Logos 5. See the special pricing our Custom Upgrade Discount Calculator has for you.

* By entering the contest you are opting in to receive emails from Logos and Logos partners

Celebrate the 450th Birthday of the Heidelberg Catechism

| Sat, January 19, 2013 | Misc., Products

Heidelberg Catechism

Today we’re celebrating the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism, one of the most important and enduring confessions to emerge out of the Reformation.

History of the Catechism

The Catechism was commissioned in 1562 by Frederick III, the elector prince of the Rhineland Palatinate. According to the original preface to the Catechism, published in 1563, Frederick had at least “three objectives for the Heidelberg Catechism: that is serve

  1. As a catechetical tool for teaching the children,
  2. As a preaching guide for instructing the common people in the churches, and
  3. As a form for confessional unity among several Protestant factions.”*

Work on the Heidelberg Catechism was begun by Casper Olevianus, but largely completed by Zacharias Ursinus, whom scholars now credit as the primary author. Frederick III sent the Catechism to the publisher on January 19, 1563—450 years ago today.

How the Heidelberg Catechism is structured

The Heidelberg Catechism is divided into three sections:

  1. The misery or sin of humanity
  2. God’s redemption
  3. Our gratitude

Within this framework, the Catechism covers the law, our need for salvation, the Trinity, justification, the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, and numerous other themes.

Because it addresses in compact form such a broad range of doctrinal and practical issues, it has played a key part in the formation of belief and worship in Reformed Christianity. In the early seventeenth century, it became one of the three forms of unity in the Dutch Reformed Church. In the mid–seventeenth century, the Westminster Assembly used the Heidelberg Catechism to develop its own catechism, which is now known as the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Celebrate the 450th anniversary!

To celebrate the 450th anniversary of the Heidelberg Catechism, we’re making two collections of works on the Heidelberg Catechism available for pre-order.

The first collection contains two volumes from the Text and Studies in Reformation and Post-Reformation Thought series published by Baker, both written by Lylie Bierma:

  • A Firm Foundation: An Aid to Interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism
  • An Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism: Sources, History, and Theology

The second collection, which is on Community Pricing, contains several classic works on the Heidelberg Catechism from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

In addition to these collections, you can also pick up several works on the Heidelberg Catechism already available in Logos, including Ursinus’ Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism.

Explore the roots of Christian Reformed doctrine—come see our Heidelberg resources.

*Bierma, Lyle, “The Purpose and Authorship of the Heidelberg Catechism,” An Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism: Sources, History, and Theology (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2005), p. 51.

If You’re Still in Logos 4, It’s Time to Upgrade

| Fri, January 18, 2013 | Products

Logos 5If you’ve been on the fence about Logos 5, now’s the perfect time to act. Our introductory pricing window is closing fast—don’t miss this opportunity to save 15% or more on a Logos 5 upgrade. Here are some of the best reasons for upgrading to Logos 5:

You’ll get a discount tailored to your library

With our new Custom Upgrade Discount Calculator, your library is taken into account during the upgrade process. If you already own a commentaries, collections, or individual books that appear in the new Logos 5 base package you want, the Discount Calculator automatically discounts your purchase by the value of that resource. You never pay for the same book twice. It doesn’t matter if you’re upgrading from Logos 4, Libronix, or even Logos 1.0—you only pay for what’s new to you, and your discount is customized for you. Within this introductory pricing period, your minimum discount would be 15%, with a potential of 25% off! You really can’t afford not to upgrade. Personalize your discount with our Custom Upgrade Discount Calculator.

Use Logos 5’s newest features

With Logos 5 come a series of new and enhanced features to the software that help you do Bible study:

Get more, pay less

If you haven’t taken advantage of our easy-to-budget, interest-free payment plans, now’s your chance. A payment plan makes upgrading to any Logos 5 base package more affordable. Learn more about how surprisingly inexpensive upgrading to Logos 5 can be.

With only a little while left in our introductory pricing window, now’s the time to get Logos 5. Check out our Custom Upgrade Discount Calculator to see how big a discount you qualify for—it might be bigger than you think.

Upgrade to Logos 5 today!

Last Chance to Save 33% on Timothy Keller’s Sermons!

| Wed, January 16, 2013 | Products

Logos is proud to team up with Timothy Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian Church to offer the Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, a digital archive of more than 22 years’ worth of Keller’s expositional sermons. This exciting project will put over 1,200 sermons in your Logos library, allowing you to search the archive for different topics or Scripture passages and helping you in your personal studies, sermon preparation, and devotional reading.

Shipping soon!

This is your last chance to order the Timothy Keller Sermon Archive for the low Pre-Pub price—$100 off the regular price. Remember, the sermons will be released in five increments as we finish transcribing them—so you’ll get several years’ worth of sermons as soon as the archive ships, and the rest of the content will automatically update to your library as we finish it.

Don’t miss this opportunity to get more than two decades of Timothy Keller’s sermons for less than 20 cents each! Time is running out to pre-order, so get yours now.