This Week in Accordance Bible (2015.06.07)

I'm posting this a day later than normal (it's already been a very busy weekend), but here's my unofficial, off-the-clock rundown of everything related to Accordance Bible Software this past week as well as the week to come. 

Released: G. K Beale's A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New

If you're not familiar with Beale's works related to intertextuality you should be. This is a fantastic and different approach to New Testament theology that is definitely worth your time. See my blog post about the title here. 

Introductory pricing applies but less than 40 hours remain from when I'm writing this. Sale prices end on Monday at midnight.

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Pulpit Resource Sale

In addition to Beale, mentioned above, we have a few other items on sale, specifically designed to help with sermon preparation:

• Wiersbe's Be Series
• Preaching the Word Commentary
• Bible Speaks Today New Testament Commentary (22 vols)
• Phillips Exploring Commentary (27 vols)

 Plus, Accordance PhotoGuide 4 with Egyptian updates remains on sale, too. 

Sale prices on all the above ends on Monday, midnight EDT, so act quickly.

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Looking for a Few Good Ministers

If you use Accordance in sermon preparation, we want to hear your story, and you might get featured in our weekly newsletter and other forms of social media. Get more information here.

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Release of Accordance Mobile 2.1

Lots of new features, updates and bug fixes, but the biggest deal is improved user notes. Get all the details here.

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LOTS of How-to Videos This Week!

Some of these haven't even been promoted yet because they were only uploaded yesterday. If you subscribe to our Vimeo or YouTube feeds, you may have seen them.

Webinar: Preparing Topical Sermons from Accordance Bible Software on Vimeo.

Accordance Mobile User Notes (Lighting the Lamp Video Podcast #124) from Accordance Bible Software on Vimeo.

Creating Ad Hoc Outlines in Accordance Mobile from Accordance Bible Software on Vimeo.

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Upcoming: Presbyterian Church of American 43rd General Assembly

This week, I will be representing Accordance at the PCA conference in Chattanooga, Tennessee. If you're there, come by booth #528 from June 9-11 and say hello!

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Upcoming Training Seminars

As you might guess, based on the above, I will be leading the free, all-day Accordance Training Seminar on Friday, June 12 in Chattanooga. If you are in the area, please sign up and come join us!

• Chattanooga, TN (June 12)
• Sydney, Australia (June 13)
• Buenos Aires (July 23)
• Atlanta, GA (Nov 20--between ETS & SBL meetings)

Go to our Training Seminars page to get more information and sign up for these seminars and others.

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Upcoming Free Webinars for the Coming Week
We have a LOTS of free webinars on schedule for the coming week. The webinars use GoToMeeting and allow participants to directly interact with the instructor. 

• Beginner's Basics, Part 2 (Mon June 8, 4-5 PM, EDT)
• Advanced Greek (Tues June 9, 1-2 PM, EDT)
• Intermediate Searching in Accordance (Tues June 9, 6-7 PM, EDT)
• Setting Up Workspaces with Abram K-J (Weds, June 10, 12-1 PM, EDT)
• Pulpit Resources and Library Content (Thurs, June 11, 1-2 PM, EDT)
• Using the Timeline (Thurs, June 11, 1-2 PM, EDT)

Sign up for these or other sessions at our Webinars page. Also check out recordings of past webinars on our Webinar Archives page

If you have questions about anything above, feel free to let me know in the comments.

This Week in Accordance Bible (2015.05.30)

Here's my unofficial, off-the-clock rundown of everything related to Accordance Bible Software from this past week. Here's what you may have missed if you were on vacation.

   

Sale on Hermeneia—A Critical & Historical Commentary on the Bible

Hermeneia is probably one of the most technical commentaries out there, and it's a bit to the left theologically from my perspective. Nevertheless, I find it to be an incredibly valuable resource at time because I have never felt I had to agree 100% with material to get benefit from it. Most amazingly we currently have Hermeneia for Accordance at only $499 for all 49 volumes. This is the lowest price we've ever offered the set. Consider that if you were to purchase these same volumes in print, you'd spend well over $3,000, and we normally run it for $829. 

    

As of this writing, there's only about two days left to get this deal because the sale ends at midnight Monday, June 1. 

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Sale on Titles Related to the Church Fathers/Early Church

A number of titles related to perspectives from figures in the Early Church are also on sale, including the following:

• Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (29 volumes)
• Ancient Christian Doctrine (5 volumes)
• Ancient Christian Devotional (3 volumes)
• Worshiping with the Church Fathers 
• Learning Theology with the Church Fathers 
• Christian Fathers Bundle (set of all the above, only available through the remainder of the sale)

Like the Hermeneia Commentaries, these titles will only be on sale for a couple more days--through midnight, Monday, June 1.

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Video: How to Set a Default Lexicon in Accordance Mobile

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Egyptian Updates for the Accordance Bible Lands PhotoGuide 4

Although the update (free upgrade for those who had already purchased PhotoGuide 4) was released a few days ago, we only really began promoting it on Friday. According to the blog post, the update provides a considerable amount of new content:

  

This new update adds over 350 new pictures and numerous articles on Egypt, the ancient land of wonder and one of the most important lands of the Bible. Some of these articles include the following entries: Alexandria, On, Memphis, the Pyramids of Giza and Saqqara, Thebes, Luxor, Karnak, Hatshepsut’s Temple, the Valley of the Kings, and Syene (Aswan).

  

If you're not familiar with the Accordance Bible Lands PhotoGuide 4, you should really check it out. It's a tremendously unique photo guide to the land of the Bible with photos you won't find anywhere else as most of them were taken by people who work for Accordance. It's on sale for over 20% off beginning yesterday and going through June 8.

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Upcoming Training Seminars

There are a number of upcoming free training seminars, and we've got all four hemispheres covered! Note that as of this week, the date for the Buenos Aires training seminar is now set specifically for July 23.

• Chattanooga, TN (June 12)
• Sydney, Australia (June 13)
• Buenos Aires (July 23)
• Atlanta, GA (Nov 20--between ETS & SBL meetings)

Go to our Training Seminars page to get more information and sign up for these seminars and others.

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Upcoming Free Webinars for the Coming Week
We have a number of free webinars on schedule for the coming week. The webinars use GoToMeeting and allow participants to directly interact with the instructor. 

• Accordance on Mobile Devices (Tues June 2, 1-2 PM, EDT)
• Searching in Accordance (Tues June 2, 6-7 PM, EDT)
• Beginner Basics - Part 1 (Wed June 3, 1-2 PM, EDT)
• Topical Studies (Thurs, June 4, 1-2 PM, EDT)

Sign up for these or other sessions at our Webinars page. Also check out recordings of past webinars on our Webinar Archives page

If you have questions about anything above, feel free to let me know in the comments.

This Week in Accordance (2015.05.23)

Another busy week in the world of Bible software, and here's my "unofficial/off-the-clock" rundown of what's new with Accordance. 

   
Commentators' Bible (Michael Carasik, ed.)

Released this past Monday for the Accordance Library, The Commentators' Bible is in the rabbinic tradition of Miqra'ot Gedolot/מקראות גדולות, AKA "Great Scriptures," or "Rabbinic Bible." This involves surrounding the biblical text with comments from various medieval rabbinic sources. Each section starts with questions raised about the passage, followed by answers from the likes of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, Rashbam, and other medieval commentators. 

As of this writing, there are about two and a half days left to get introductory pricing on volumes for Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and an even greater cut for all four together. The obvious question is "What about Genesis?" Carasik is still working on that one, and it's slated for around 2018.

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The Bible's Many Voices (Michael Carasik)

Also from Carasik this week is his book The Bible's Many Voices, which is a literary analysis of sorts focusing on the diversity of the human element involved in the origins of the Bible. Carasik writes from a Jewish perspective, but there is a good bit of interaction with the Christian New Testament as well. 

             

Here is part of the publisher's description:

     

The most common English translations of the Bible often sound like a single, somewhat archaic voice. In fact, the Bible is made up of many separate books composed by multiple writers in a wide range of styles and perspectives. It is, as Michael Carasik demonstrates, not a remote text reserved for churches and synagogues but rather a human document full of history, poetry, politics, theology, and spirituality.

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"Jewish Perspective" Sale

We placed a number of titles on sale that look at the Bible from a Jewish perspective. 

• Jewish Annotated Bible
• Jewish New Testament Commentary (note that this title is from a Messianic Jewish perspective)
• JPS Torah Commentary
• Torah Modern Commentary
• Jewish Study Bible

Again, as with the other titles from Carasik, there are about two and a half days left for this sale before these titles go back up to regular pricing.

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Two Endorsement Videos Released

Brandon Crowe, Associate Professor of New Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia:

Anthony Abell, Provost of Clearwater Christian College:

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Lighting the Lamp Video Podcast #123: Change Focus and Tie/Untie Panes

This six-minute video shows off two new features of Accordance 11.0.6 for Macintosh and Windows.

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Upcoming Training Seminars

There are a number of upcoming free training seminars, and we've got all four hemispheres covered! 

• Chattanooga, TN (June 12)
• Sydney, Australia (June 13)
• Buenos Aires (July 20-24)
• Atlanta, GA (Nov 20--between ETS & SBL meetings)

Go to our Training Seminars page to get more information and sign up for these seminars and others.

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Upcoming Free Webinars for the Coming Week

We have a number of free webinars on schedule for the coming week. The webinars use GoToMeeting and allow participants to directly interact with the instructor. 

• Learning Greek (Tues May 26, 1-2 PM, EDT)
• User Tools & Notes (Tues May 26, 6-7 PM, EDT)
• Beginners Basics, Part 5: Linking (Wed May 27, 1-2 PM EDT)

Sign up for these or other sessions at our Webinars page. Also check out recordings of past webinars on our Webinar Archives page

If you have questions about anything above, feel free to let me know in the comments.

This Week in Accordance (2015.05.16)

Here's a rundown of all things Accordance from the previous week!

 

Specialized Dictionary Sale

Everyone needs good dictionaries, right? The link above will take you to the blog post and descriptions of each item on sale. These prices are good through Monday, May 18, Midnight EDT.

Here's a quick list of what's included:

• Dictionary of Bible Themes
• Dictionary of Early Christian Biography
• Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism
• JPS Dictionary of Jewish Words
• Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy & End Times
• Dictionary of Cults, Sects, Religions & the Occult
• The New International Dictionary of Biblical Archaeology
• The New International Dictionary of The Christian Church 
• IVP Pocket Dictionaries on Church History, Ethics, and Biblical Hebrew
• IVP Bundle of Six New Dictionaries
• Essential IVP Reference Collection 3

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Video: Creating a Combined Resource in Accordance

Learn how to create a combined resource to scroll in parallel with a biblical text. We recommend watching this video fullscreen.

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Upcoming Training Seminars

There are two upcoming free training seminars, and we've got both northern and southern hemispheres covered! 

• Chattanooga, TN (June 12)
• Sydney, Australia (June 13)

Go to our Training Seminars page to get more information and sign up for these seminars and others.

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Upcoming Free Webinars for the Coming Week

We have LOTS of free webinars on schedule for the coming week. The webinars use GoToMeeting and allow participants to directly interact with the instructor. 

• Beginner Basics - Part 2 (Mon May 18, 4-5 PM, EDT)
• Preparing Expository Sermons with Accordance (Tues May 19, 1-2 PM, EDT)
• Creating an Accordance Slideshow (Tues May 19, 6-7 PM EDT)
• Beginner Basics - Part 3 (Wed May 20, 2015, 1-2 PM EDT)
• Sermon Preparation in Action (Thurs May 21, 12-1:15 PM EDT)
• Using the Research Tool (Thurs May 21, 4-5 PM EDT)
• Beginning Basics - Part 4 (Fri May 22, 1-2 PM)

Sign up for these or other sessions at our Webinars page. Also check out recordings of past webinars on our Webinar Archives page

If you have questions about anything above, feel free to let me know in the comments.

This Week in Accordance (2015.05.09)

Here is my unofficial, off-the-clock rundown of everything new relating to Accordance from this past week. 

New Titles for the Accordance Library from InterVarsity Press

• IVP New Testament Commentary Series (20 volumes)
• Global Dictionary of Theology (eds. William A. Dyrness and Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen)
• Lost World Of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology And The Origins Debate by John H. Walton
• The Theology of the Book of Isaiah by John Goldingay

These titles were released and went on sale on Tuesday with introductory pricing. It's Saturday afternoon when I'm writing this, so if you want the discounts, you've got less than three days left. I read through a few articles in the Global Dictionary, and it looks really good. I enjoy reading other perspectives, regardless of whether or not I agree with them. I've been wanting to read Walton's book for a while, as well as his follow-up covering Gen 2-3, so I hope to curl up with my iPad and jump into the Lost World soon.

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NIVAC Sale Ends at Midnight

This sale on the NIV Application Commentary series was in partnership with the publisher, Zondervan. It ran for two weeks on a schedule different than our normal sales. If you're reading this after the date of this post, and the link above doesn't work, forget it you missed it. And that's a shame because the sale brought the prices down to $7.99 per volume. 

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Five New Videos

We released five new videos this week, some of which we haven't even had a chance yet to publicize. Nevertheless, since they are all public, I'll embed them here. 

First up, a short tutorial, Syncing Accordance Mobile with Dropbox. This is part of our Mobile Minute series that goes with our weekly newsletter (sign up here). 

Second, Dr. J (Tim Jenney) released episode #122 of the Lighting the Lamp podcast, in which he demonstrates How to Study a Topic in Accordance. 

The third and fourth videos are part of a 2013 Accordance Training Seminar held in Baltimore in November, 2013 (ETS/SBL week). Although they feature demonstrations of Accordance 10, everything here applies to Accordance 11 since the latter added features to what was already there. There will be more installments added to a new page at the Accordance website as we edit them. 

This first segment, led by Tim Jenney, gives a basic overview of Accordance.

The second segment, led by David Lang, offers a basic introduction to search commands and search symbols. 

Finally, the fifth video, just released today is another Accordance Mobile Minute segment. This one, primarily geared toward new users of our mobile app, shows off features of the Verse Chooser. 

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Australian Training Seminars

We now have two free training seminars scheduled for Australia: 

• Brisbane (May 16)
• Sydney (June 13)

Go to our Training Seminars page to get more information and sign up for these seminars and others.

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Upcoming Free Webinars for the Coming Week

We have two webinars on schedule for this week. The webinars use GoToMeeting and allow participants to directly interact with the instructor. 

• Intermediate Searching in Accordance (Tues May 12, 6-7 PM, EDT)
• Using the Atlas (Thurs May 14, 1-2 PM, EDT)

Sign up for these or other sessions at our Webinars page. Also check out recordings of past webinars on our Webinar Archives page.

Whew--it's been a busy week! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments.

This Week in Accordance (2015.05.02)

A personal note: If you were around to remember the Remington shaver ads in the '80s, you might remember Victor Kiam stating, "I liked the shaver so much, I bought the company!" Well, I haven't bought anything, but believing in the power and potential of Accordance Bible Software so greatly, I began regular work for the company. I say "regular" work because I now have a title (Technology Evangelist--this is homage to Guy Kawasaki's title at Apple in the '90s and one I requested based on what I'm doing for Accordance) and daily responsibilities. 

If you look at some of the big players in Bible Software--Accordance, Logos, WordSearch, BibleWorks, OliveTree--I used all but OliveTree before I ever started using Accordance in 1998. All of them are still on my various devices. But it was Accordance that changed everything for me. For me, and for reasons I won't rabbit trail here, Accordance became the Bible software I went to 99% of the time because I could do with it what I couldn't do with the other platforms. Accordance is one of those programs that simply stays open on my computer because I use it over and over throughout the day. Over time, I got to know some of the personalities behind the computer screen, and beginning around 2008, they started using me for an occasional training seminar or conference. Then, as of last year--June, 2014, to be specific--I'm finally with them as a day-in, day-out regular employee. 

So, now, as I try to bring This Lamp back from the throes of death due to neglect, I want to continue including content about Accordance even though I work for the company. But I want to point out an important difference here. If I say something about Accordance on the Accordance FaceBook page, it's an "official" statement. If I say it here, it's unofficial. If I say something through the Accordance Twitter account, I'm speaking for the company. Here, I'm not. What I write here is not part of my job; I'm not counting hours or getting paid for anything I include on This Lamp. This just goes back to my sentiment that echoes Victor Kiam. I really am all-in with this.

Having said that, one thing I thought I might do is to create a quick rundown each week of all that's new with Accordance, usually posting on the weekend. Today's post will be the first of these. 

So what's new with Accordance this week?

NIVAC Sale. As of this writing, you've still got seven days to take advantage of this. Zondervan partnered with Accordance (and a few other not-to-be-named-here platforms) to offer the NIV Application Commentary at 70% off through May 9. This is a really good deal. We've never offered these prices this low before, and the commentary is a good mid-range set that, while emphasizing contemporary relevance, also takes original context seriously. 

Three new releases from Tremper Longman. If you've read anything from Longman, you're aware that he's a topnotch scholar who knows how to communicate in a style that's very understandable to those who are not necessarily scholars. This week, we released three of his four "How to Read" books: How to Read Genesis, How to Read Exodus, and How to Read Proverbs. Introductory pricing is still available for about two more days as of this writing, so don't delay picking these up.

Accordance 11.05 was released for Windows & OS X. The update can be accessed by going to Application Update inside Accordance. The official general statement is "Improved export capabilities, updated colors, report topic corrections, and many improvements and fixes across the board," but you may be interested in the specifics as it pertains to the individual Mac and Windows platforms.

Check out the Sermon Prep webinar (recorded). We've heard numerous times the competition privately telling potential customers, "Well, Accordance is okay for original languages, but not so much for ministry tasks like preparing sermons." Baloney. Tell that to the thousands of pastors who use Accordance every week for preparing their sermons! Anyway, this webinar taught by Pastor Abram Kielsmeier-Jones is a great introduction for using Accordance to prepare sermons. For that matter, any Accordance user who has any kind of regular teaching responsibilities will find this session to be extremely practical. 

And while you're thinking about webinars, take a look at the upcoming Accordance webinar schedule. Our webinars are becoming a chief way to hone one's skills in using the Bible software. 

Questions? Thoughts? Comments? Rebuttals? Put them in the comments.