The Logos Bible Software Blog
One of the most talked about Logos 7 features is the Sermon Editor which continues to evolve and improve. A case in point is an almost unnoticed enhancement in the recently released Logos 7.4. Unless you know it’s there, you’re apt to overlook it, but this tweak may prove helpful as you prepare a Sermon document.
Growing up, I had limited experience interacting with people from other cultures. That all changed when I became a student at a university in Vancouver, B.C.—a city where fewer than half of the residents speak English as their first language. Surrounded by fellow students from unfamiliar cultures and worldviews, I was plunged into the role of the outsider. I quickly realized how difficult it was to communicate ideas when two people don’t share first languages, backgrounds or cultural reference points.
As I studied Paul’s teachings and letters in graduate school, I learned to appreciate why God selected him for the role of apostle to the Gentiles. A “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil 3:5) steeped in Old Testament traditions, Paul had to explain the gospel and its implications to people of mostly non-Jewish background. He was the perfect man for the task: Although raised a Jew, Paul was brought up in a Graeco-Roman context (e.g., Acts 21:39).
This background gave Paul an insider’s perspective into Graeco-Roman culture and the lives of those he was trying to reach. He engaged popular culture so he could better communicate the gospel.
I was recently reading 1 John in which I came to the phrase in the world in 1 John 2:15. From my research, I realized John frequently uses the Greek word kosmos usually translated world. During my study I asked a few questions such as:
Such detailed questions are actually very easy to answer with the Guide, Bible Word Study, which is available in Logos 7.
As you well know, many of the New Testament books were originally composed as epistles or letters. Paul sent letters to the churches in Corinth, Philippi, Colossae, and so on. It’s easy, however, to lose sight of the “epistolary form” with the addition of chapter and verse numbers, pericope headings, text formatting, etc.
Fortunately for us, our Logos Bible Software contains a feature called Bible Text Only allowing us to hide these extra-biblical markings and thus read letters as letters.
I’ve come to realize that in order to know the Bible there is no replacement for reading the entire thing.
I’m going to give three reasons why you need to aim to read even the portions of the Bible you somehow rarely get around to—and why I myself continue to reread the Bible even though I’ve already marked it “read” on Goodreads.
Give poor Obadiah and Nahum some love. Actually try to divine some intent behind genealogies rather than skipping them (hint: it’s there).
With the advent of Logos 7, a feature known as Multiview Resources allowed us to open numerous resources within the same panel. The recent release of 7.3 expanded that feature with the option of creating a saved list of resources which can easily be loaded.
Also, we now have the option of displaying Multiple Resources side by side or one upon the other.
Let’s quickly take a look at both of these improvements by creating a saved list of daily devotionals.
The screen printer standing in my living room was trying to sell me on a new four-color process for the kids Bible club shirts my church needed. One problem: he came to the door asking for “Mike,” not “Mark” because I kind of forgot to tell him the truth… (I used to use a pseudonymous email address out of overblown security concerns.)
We still joke about that. He’s now one of my best friends. But back then I had no idea of the wonderful story of God’s grace in his life. He and his wife were brand new to the area, and my wife and I invited them over and started a friendship. We found out that this clean-cut young man had, not too many years back, been a drug addict. As a last resort his non-Christian family had sent him to a Christian program in a rural area. Most guys go there to get clean, and they’re willing to use the God stuff temporarily if it will help them get their lives back from drugs and alcohol.
One of my favorite features for the observation phase of Bible study is Text Comparison. In the recent 7.3 update to Logos Bible Software, changes were made on how we select Bibles for this tool. Below are the simple steps for creating a saved Bible list which can easily be recalled for future use.
I can still recall the thrill of seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark in the theater. A senior in high school, I had already been infected with the archaeology bug. This movie boosted my interest to a whole new level. As Providence would have it, I followed the path of Indiana Jones—at least academically. I’m still fascinated by the ark, but I no longer believe it is lost and awaiting discovery. I have Jeremiah to blame for that.
We all know the most respectable New Year’s resolution a Christian can make is “Read the Bible every day.” What if this year we didn’t just resolve to do it, but we actually did it?
Logos Bible Software is here to help you turn your resolution into reality. The Logos Pro team has put together a brand new, free 30-day course in which we’ll show you how to study Jonah 1:1–16 using the powerful tools in Logos. Thirty free videos, three simple steps: Observe, Interpret, Apply.