Final answer:
The sermon that sparked controversy among Calvinists was Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," which was at odds with the Calvinist focus on predestination and scriptural reading over emotional experiences as signs of salvation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The sermon that infuriated the Calvinists was "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards. It was preached on July 8, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut, during a period of religious revival known as the Great Awakening. Edwards's sermon utilized graphic imagery of the terrors of hell and the wrath of an angry God to evoke an emotional response from the audience. This approach contrasted with the Calvinist practice which emphasized predestination and the inability of humans to influence their salvation through deeds or emotional experiences.
Calvinism, a branch of Protestantism founded by John Calvin, held the idea that God had already selected a few chosen people for salvation, an idea known as predestination. Contrary to the purpose of Edwards's sermon, Calvinists believed that reading scripture, not emotional experiences, was a way for the elect to prepare to receive God's grace. They saw authority in scripture alone, not in emotional revivalism that stressed a personal conversion experience. Hence, Edward's dramatic and emotional sermon was controversial among Calvinists who valued sobriety and self-restraint over overt expressions of religious fervor.
Moreover, Calvinists worked towards a moral lifestyle, with the hope that it would be a sign of being among the elect, even though their ultimate fate was believed to be predestined by God. Edward's revival method, by contrast, called for an immediate emotional response as evidence of salvation, which ran counter to the Calvinist understanding of God's unchangeable will.