(Romans 8)
I grew up in the Reformed Church in America. For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s the Dutch version of Scottish Presbyterianism. It’s a lot smaller in this country because there were far more Scottish immigrants than Dutch, but historically they’ve been different versions of the same basic thing: Reformed theology and church government by elders. Pastors are elders who take the primary responsibility for preaching and teaching.
Problem is, that word “Reformed” isn’t clear to many people nowadays. What many don’t get—even in Reformed churches—is that the nub of Calvinism is very simple: God is bigger. Luther was driven to stand against the Roman church when he discovered the meaning of grace; Calvin’s great inspiration was a vision of the unimaginable sovereignty, glory, and goodness of God. However much bigger and more wonderful you might stretch your understanding of God to be, he’s far, far bigger and more wonderful than you realize. Everything else in Calvin’s thought flows from that.