Logos 9 Preaching Suite Review
The Logos 9 Preaching Suite is an integrated preaching platform designed specifically to help you prepare, preach, and archive your sermons. It includes the preaching tools from Logos 9 Gold with resources specifically for preaching. Fortunately, it’s much cheaper than Logos 9 Gold. It’s a Logos Base Package that’s tailored for preachers on a budget. You can purchase it at a low monthly price or as a one-time purchase. I reviewed Logos 9 when it launched and covered the preaching tools. In this article, we’ll look at Logos 9 Preaching Suite and see what it includes.
Faithlife provided this Bible software in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
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Purchase Logos 9 Preaching Suite (partner)
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Table of Contents
- Resources
- Sermon Builder
- Sermon Manager
- Expository and Topical Sermon Workflows
- Preach Mode
- Conclusion – Logos 9 – Preaching Suite
Resources
The resources you get will depend on the plan you choose. Each of the resources was chosen specifically for sermon prep. Most either focus on how to preach or provide information for the sermons themselves. Each of the suites includes online sermon storage. Like all Logos editions, it has unlimited downloads and you can install it on as many personal devices as you want. Here’s a closer look at each plan. I’m reviewing the Standard suite.
Preaching Suite Essentials
$9.99 per month or $199.99. 22 resources valued at over $2800. Includes 3 English Bibles, 5 commentaries, 1 audiobook, 7 preaching and teaching resources, 2 Greek texts and translations, and 4 study Bibles.
The standout features of this set include the ESV Expository Commentary, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, and Preaching Essentials.
Preaching Suite Standard
$19.99 per month or $399.99. 185 resources valued at over $4000. Includes 5 English Bibles, 61 commentaries, 1 Dictionary/encyclopedia, 1 general studies, 1 course, 1 audiobook, 93 preaching and teaching resources, 2 Greek texts and translations, 1 systematic theology, 2 biblical theology, 2 pastoral care and counseling, 6 ministry, 4 study Bibles, 1 19th century theology, 1 20th century theology, and 3 18th century theology.
This is the set that I’m reviewing. It includes everything from the Essentials set. The standout resources for the Standard set include Preacher’s Homiletic Commentary (38 vols.), Preaching Through the Bible (14 vols.), Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old and New Testaments (2 vols.), and Great Preaching On Series (18 vols.).
I’ve used each of these resources but those that I’ve used the most so far are Preaching Through the Bible and Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines. These have been helpful in sermon prep and study. I’m also going through the course Preaching in the Contemporary World. I’m reading through several books: Expository Preaching, How Sermons Work, Preaching Essentials, Preaching the Scriptures, and The Elements of Preaching. It will take me a while to get through these, but they do seem to be excellent resources to hone your preaching skills. They’re well written and include a lot of information.
Preaching Suite Premium
$29.99 per month or $599.99. 360 resources valued at over $6200. Includes 5 English Bibles, 173 commentaries, 1 Dictionary/encyclopedia, 1 general studies, 1 devotional and spiritual growth, 1 course, 1 audiobook, 142 preaching and teaching resources, 7 sermons, 2 Greek texts and translations, 1 systematic theology, 2 biblical theology, 1 Reformation-era theology, 2 pastoral care and counseling, 7 ministry, 4 study Bibles, 5 19th century theology, 3 20th century theology, and 3 18th century theology.
It includes everything from the Standard Suite. The standout resources are Preaching the Word Commentary (22 vols.), Baker Sermon Outlines Collection (50 vols.), The Pulpit Commentary (77 vols.), and Pulpit Pages Collection (474 sermons). I plan to upgrade to this package when I can. Dynamic pricing and sales help a lot with upgrades.
Sermon Builder
The Sermon Editor is the tool that builds the sermon. You can write it, preach it, and publish it from the same platform. Create an outline by selecting the heading tags and adding content. Enter the references you want and it will automatically add the verses for you using your default translation. It will also automatically build slides for you as you go and the slides are stylable. The word count shows how long the sermon would last to help you plan the timing. I find that I need almost twice as many words as it says I’d need, though.
It works like any text editor, so you can change the font size, color, background, add bullets, etc. You can save the styles and switch between them. It doesn’t have a lot of colors, but those it does have are helpful. Styling also includes tools just for preaching, such as illustrations and prompts.
It also includes an integrated notebook that you can access from the Sermon Builder. Create notes in the notebook and then add them to your sermon by clicking on them. Both can be on the screen at the same time so you don’t have to switch back and forth between them.
Sermon Manager
The Sermon Manager shows your sermons within a list or a radial calendar. This is helpful for those that like to plan ahead and keep a scheduled calendar. Easily map out the year so you’ll know the plan for each service. It identifies holidays, school breaks, etc.
The List view displays the sermons by date, venue, service, title, series, passages, topics, US holidays, etc. Filter them by series, passages, speaker, audience, etc.
The Radial Calendar displays the yearly calendar as a circle. You can view the calendar by each year as either a calendar or a liturgical list. This is a good way to see your calendar all at once.
Expository and Topical Sermon Workflows
The Logos Preaching Suite comes with two sermon workflows: one for topical sermons and one for expository sermons. They’re valued at $9.99 each. The workflows give you an outline to follow from start to finish when building the sermon. They’re excellent tools and I highly recommend using them.
Topical Workflow
The Topical workflow steps you through creating a topical sermon based on the references you enter. The steps include researching the topic, planning the message, writing and developing the sermon, and preparing to preach. Each of the steps includes sub-steps with detailed guidance.
Expository Workflow
The Expository workflow gives you the steps to create an expository sermon based on the Scripture reference you enter. The steps include preparing and planning, studying the passage, exploring the cultural and historical context, identifying important cross-references, consulting commentaries, outlining the passage, evaluating the results of your study, writing the sermon, and preparing to preach. These steps are more detailed than the topical workflow and are an excellent guide to building an expository sermon.
Preach Mode
You can preach the sermon from your notes by clicking Preach Mode. With Preach Mode your notes are placed within a web browser on your desktop or from within the Logos app on a smartphone or tablet.
I preach from notes on an Amazon Fire tablet. All sizes work great, but I usually use the 10-inch Fire because it’s more powerful. I actually forgot to take it with me when I preached at a local Church recently. I did have my phone (Galaxy S8+), so I logged into the Logos app and my sermon was there. It took more page turns than I’m used to, but it worked great.
It includes a countdown timer and you can change the font size. I do think it needs a few more font size options because it jumps too many points in size with nothing in between. It also includes arrows to change the page. It shows the page you’re on and the number of pages you have. All of the verses in the sermon are clickable. This opens your default Bible where you can see the full context. You’ll need to click on the sermon again to return to it.
Conclusion – Logos 9 – Preaching Suite
The Preaching Tools are some of my favorite features of Logos 9 Gold. I’m glad to see those tools available in a much cheaper package. The resources are great for those that want reference material to develop their sermons and lots of information to help improve your sermons. Those without seminary degrees (like me) will benefit the most from the resources. Every preacher will benefit from the sermon builder and preaching mode.
If you’re interested in the preaching tools from Logos but don’t need the resources from Logos 9 Gold, Logos 9 Preaching Suite is a better option. Even if you have Logos 9 Gold, I recommend purchasing Logos 9 Preaching Suite. The dynamic pricing will get you a lot of preaching resources much cheaper than the price of the Preaching Suite packages. No matter which preaching suite you get, its resources are worth far more than it costs, and the preaching tools alone can save you lots of time and help you build better sermons.
For more information about Logos 9, see my review: Logos 9 Bible Software Review
____________________________________
Purchase Logos 9 Preaching Suite (partner)
____________________________________
Faithlife provided this Bible software in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review, only an honest one. All opinions are my own.
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