Lecture prep this week involves writing on the English reformation - always a controversial time (and steering a way through the confessional/revisionist/ post-revisionist scholarship is always entertaining), but one that brings up all kinds of questions about the sacramental and Liturgical function (as well as the continuity) of the Anglican church. I don't think that it's any secret that I favour a more liturgically rigorous form of worship than that practised in the majority of Evangelical churches - perhaps something more along the lines of Cranmer's vision than that of Knox and Zwingli. In the past year I've begun to use the sign of the Cross in my own personal devotions, a practice that has interesting historical, theological and practical liturgical roots. To my mind Nathan Bierma's article in "Christianity Today" sums up the many advantages of its use in both personal and public worship. Enjoy!

Bierma, "The Shape of Faith"