One very helpful addition to Logos 7 is the fact that when you do a passage/verse study using the “Passage Guide,” the search includes systematic theologies, biblical theologies, confessional documents, and more.  What is this?  Well, today I was looking up Jeremiah 29:13.  Using the Passage Guide I could find where this verse was mentioned in my systematic theology books, biblical theology books, and confessions/creeds.  Very nice!

I’ve been using Logos Bible software for Bible study and sermon preparation since June 2014.  Though I wouldn’t say it has changed my life, I would say that it has seriously improved my studies.  I realize Bible study software can become a crutch that hinders thinking, since it is tempting to let the software do things the brain should do.  But used rightly, like a good tool, I’ve found Logos to be a great asset in devotional reading and serious textual study and sermon writing.

Recently the Logos team generously sent me an upgrade – from Logos 6 to Logos 7 – for review purposes.  I’ve used it quite extensively now, so I’m ready to give some thoughts on it.  To be sure, there are too many new and updated features for me to comment upon here, but you can check this list for more details.

One thing I like in Logos 7 is the fact that there are more screen layouts to choose from (Bible journaling, word studies, topic studies, and of course you can save and name your own screen layouts).  Right now since I’m preaching from Luke and Numbers, I have those two layouts saved so they’re ready to go when I am.

Logos 7 also has a Bible browser that lets you do a search using your own types of filters.  For example, I wanted to find all the instances of someone seeking God in the Bible.  The filter was “People: A Seeker of the Lord” and it gave 34 results in the NIV.  I can now further narrow that search down to a sense of the word like seeking refuge or seeking good, for two examples.

There are also some video courses included in Logos 7.  In my library I have “Preaching the Psalms” by Mark Futato, “Introducing the Gospels and Acts” by Darrell Bock, and a few others on ethics, the resurrection, and so forth.  I’ve only watched a few of the Psalms videos, but so far they are very well done.

There is also a sermon editor in Logos 7.  I’ve used it for sermon handouts (simple outlines), but in my opinion it isn’t as good as a regular word processor for writing full sermons.  I assume this editor will improve with time, just as other features in Logos have.

One very helpful addition to Logos 7 is the fact that when you do a passage/verse study using the “Passage Guide,” the search includes systematic theologies, biblical theologies, confessional documents, and more.  What is this?  Well, today I was looking up Jeremiah 29:13.  Using the Passage Guide I could find where this verse was mentioned in my systematic theology books, biblical theology books, and confessions/creeds.  Very nice!

One more feature worth mentioning is the concordance.  With this tool, you can make your own concordance of any section of Scripture.  This is great, for example, if you want to see which words Paul used the most (or the least!) in Philippians.  There are also some filters so you can find just the Greek (or English) words you’re looking for.

I could go on and list more new/updated features, but I want to keep this review relatively short.  To be honest, I only mentioned the tip of the Logos iceberg (for example, the iOS and Android Apps are very nice)!  There’s a lot more to Logos than what I mentioned (for another example, you can use it offline). Indeed, Logos 7 is a very powerful Bible study tool.  Like all tools, it can be used wrongly, but when one learns to use it rightly (which does take some time!), it is certainly a blessing for studying God’s holy word.

To be blunt, Logos isn’t cheap.  Right now if you use this link (HERE), you’ll get a discount on Logos Silver (total of $467.50) or Logos Gold (total of $935.00).  Even if you use a monthly payment plan, I realize this is quite a bit of money!  However, if you study the Word a lot, and are looking for powerful Bible software, I’m almost sure that after of using Logos for a year or so, you’ll say it is worth the price.  By the way, if your pastor doesn’t have Logos 7 and is interested, it may be worth having your church look into getting it for him.  It really is that good and I have no qualms in giving it my full recommendation.  Keep up the good work, Logos team!

Rev. Shane Lems is a minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and serves as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Hammond, Wis. This article appeared on his blog and is used with permission.