Faithlife Blog

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Major update: Proclaim gets a new look

Proclaim recently got a major update. Here’s a rundown of what’s new.

A whole new look

We’ve eliminated gradients and reflections, embracing the new wave of flat design. In addition to its modern appearance, this aesthetic improves performance, as there are fewer graphic elements to move around.

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Proclaim’s new look makes more efficient use of space, expanding the timeline to use the full width of the application window.

Speed, stability & continuity

We’ve updated some of the underlying technology that will make everything faster, more stable, and more consistent across platforms. Slides now render identically on both Mac and Windows.

On-Screen Bible quick screen

This is my favorite change in the update.

We’ve long included three quick screens to help you deal with the unexpected. In a single click, you can clear all text on the screens, switch to your church’s logo, or blank the screens completely. We retired the “no text” option, since few were using it, and we’ve added a new quick screen option—On-Screen Bible.

Select it, type a reference, and in an instant you’ll have an animated display of that passage. This is perfect for moments when the worship leader or pastor improvise their way into an unexpected passage, you can quickly get it up on the screens.

It might not be something you’ll use every week, but when things don’t go as planned this feature will make it look like they did.

Preserved customization

Smart Media is one of the ways that Proclaim saves you a lot of time. But now, if you edit a slide using the customization window—to match an uploaded background image, perhaps—your changes will be preserved even if you change backgrounds. So if you choose to customize your slides, you’ll only have to do it once.

Delete songs

We’ve added an option to your right-click menu for removing songs from your “My Songs” list. Use this to cut down on clutter from songs you don’t ever plan to use, and duplicate entries of your favorites.

Language awareness

All the Bible tools are now language aware, so if you’re using the Spanish RVR, for example, you can now enter “Juan 3:16,” and the Scripture will parse correctly and display as “Juan 3:16.” This is an important first step for us in making Proclaim available to the global church.

These, and all future improvements to Proclaim are delivered to On Air subscribers automatically for free! When we release a new version, you don’t pay a dime. Subscribe today, and start enjoying Proclaim’s new look.

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Understanding Prayer Lists in Faithlife Groups

Prayer lists add unique functionality to Faithlife Groups. Here’s a quick primer on what they can do, and how to get the most out of them.

Setting user permissions

Faithlife Groups offer five levels of access, and empowers you to set privacy settings that suite your group’s unique needs. In the group settings panel, determine which members will be permitted to connect to group prayer lists, create and share new prayer lists, and remove requests.

Regarding prayer lists, you have three decisions to make:

  1. Connect to prayer lists—That is, follow prayer lists. Anyone connected to a prayer list will be able to add requests of their own, see details on other added requests, and receive notifications about prayer requests inside their Faithlife Study Bible app.
  2. Create/Share new prayer lists—New prayer lists are created from inside Logos 5 (more on that later), and shared to a Faithlife group, but you may wish to limit access to only certain people, like administrators or moderators.
  3. Remove prayer lists—Prayer lists can be deleted easily, so guard this permission a little more cautiously to prevent inadvertent deletion.

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For a more detailed explanation of all privacy controls and user permissions on Faithlife.com, check out the post “Understanding the Privacy Settings on Faithlife.com.”

Creating new prayer lists in Logos 5

It’s easy. Select “Prayer lists” from the documents menu, give your list a title and start adding requests right away. You can set frequency and duration for each request and add tags so that your prayer requests so you can find them again later.

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Then, visit Documents.Logos.com to share it with a group. The “Collaborate” option will give a group ownership of your prayer list, so that members can add their own requests to it.

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You could, for example, create a prayer list about a missions trip that your small group plans to make together. You would create the list in Logos 5, seeding it with some general requests like “financial support” and “safe travels.” After announcing the trip, you could share the list with your group at Documents.Logos.com, and then members could connect to it and add their own more specific prayer requests.

Add a prayer list to the group’s sidebar

Though a prayer list may belong to a group, it may still not appear on the group’s page. A group administrator or moderator can add group lists to the sidebar for all to see. Tab over to the “Sidebar” section of the group settings menu, and drag a prayer-list widget to make shared prayer requests visible to all group members.

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Faithlife Groups are the digital home for your faith community. It’s free to join and invite others. Tools like prayer lists, reading plans, Community Notes, and a group newsletter make it easier than ever to communicate, collaborate, and fellowship around the Word of God. Join today at Faithlife.com.

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What God Meant: “Like Newborn Infants, Long for the Pure Spiritual Milk”

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Biblical writers use several different word pictures to help us understand the power and function of Scripture.

At different times, the Bible is compared to:

  • Light (Psalm 119:105)
  • A mirror (James 1:23)
  • Fire (Jeremiah 23:29)
  • A hammer (Jeremiah 23:29)
  • A sword (Hebrews 4:12)
  • Milk (1 Peter 2:2)
  • Food (1 Corinthians 3:2)

It’s those last two that can be a little confusing. In 1 Peter 2:2, the comparison to milk seems to be a favorable one. Peter’s admonition is for the readers (and us) to preserve a singular focus on and childlike enthusiasm for God’s Word.

Then Paul uses a similar word picture in 1 Corinthians 3:2, but seems to indicate that at some point, we ought to graduate away from the “milk” of the Word.

So which is it? Is the Word of God like milk or like food? And is that good or bad?

While it’s almost always a good idea to compare Scripture with Scripture, literary devices like metaphors or similes remain effective only in their original contexts. The same metaphor used in a different way can illustrate a different point, and that’s what’s going on here.

Peter uses the “milk” word picture to point out how eagerly we ought to consume the Word of God, just like an infant consumes milk.

Paul is addressing a different group of people all together about an all together different idea. The Corinthians who received Paul’s letter did not lack eagerness—they lacked perseverance. They were rehearsing the same fundamental truths constantly, never moving beyond the basics, and were thus missing the richness of other, heavier, more substantial Scripture passages.

Peter and Paul are not arguing. They are standing back to back, defending the same idea from different directions.

As we read the Word of God, it’s important for us to keep in mind that it was written over a span of more than 1,500 years by more than 40 different individuals from all walks of life. They address different subjects for different audiences, from different perspectives, and yet not a single contradiction or error appears in its 66 books. Remarkable, no?

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The Faithlife Study Bible links Scripture passages that address the same topic, so you can make connections with just a click. Download the Faithlife Study Bible for free from your favorite app store, and take your Bible study to the next level.