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Rev. Scott E. Hoezee (Hoe-zay) is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church in North America and has served two congregations. He was the pastor of Second Christian Reformed Church in Fremont, Michigan, from 1990-1993. From 1993-2005 he was the Minister of Preaching and Administration at Calvin CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the spring of 2005 Scott accepted the Seminary’s offer to become the first Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching. He has also been a member of the Pastor-Theologian Program sponsored by the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, New Jersey, where he was pastor-in-residence in the fall of 2000. From 2001-2011 Scott served on the editorial board of Perspectives: A Journal of Reformed Thought and was co-editor of that journal from 2005-2011. He blogs regularly for The Reformed Journal and along with Darrell Delaney is the co-host of the Groundwork radio and podcast program.
Rev. Hoezee is married to Rosemary Apol and they have two children. He enjoys birdwatching, snorkeling, and exploring the beauties and wonders of God’s great creation.
Rev. Hoezee is the author of several books including The Riddle of Grace (1996), Flourishing in the Land (1996), Remember Creation (1998), Speaking as One: A Look at the Ecumenical Creeds (1997), Speaking of Comfort: A Look at the Heidelberg Catechism (1998), and Proclaim the Wonder: Preaching Science on Sunday (2003), Grace Through Every Generation (2007), Actuality: Real Life Stories for Sermons That Matter (2014), and Why We Listen To Sermons (2018).
Scott Hoezee has been writing sermon commentaries for the CEP website since its inception in July 2005.
Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19
Commentary
Easter 3A
Since I can detect no logical reason for skipping verses 5-11 as the Lectionary would have us to do, it makes sense to preach on the entire psalm as these 19 verses form a seamless whole. But I leave that up to you! In general, as a psalm in Eastertide, one could map this song…
Psalm 16
Commentary
Easter 2A
What if we took the middle section of Psalm 16 and grafted it over the story of Jesus from the Gospels? If we did that, what would we see and notice? Consider the following: 5 Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. Can we read these words and not…
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
Commentary
Easter Day A
Sometimes I think the Revised Common Lectionary wants to test the creativity of us preachers. Just last week for Palm Sunday / Passion Sunday, the Year A Lectionary served up either Psalm 118 or Psalm 31. Now on Easter we get Psalm 118 again and if you look ahead a little down the RCL road,…
Psalm 31:9-16
Commentary
Palm Sunday A
Since the Lectionary each year gives us a psalm each for the Liturgy of the Palms (Psalm 118 most years) and the Liturgy of the Passion (Psalm 31 this year), each year we select just one of them to focus on. This commentary is on the Psalm 31 lection but if you would like to…
Psalm 130
Commentary
Lent 5A
As we near the conclusion already of the 2026 Season of Lent, this Year A psalm selection serves up something that is quintessentially Lenten in nature. The entirety of this fairly short song deals with two linked realities: Our human need to be forgiven of our sins and God’s divine penchant to be a forgiving…
Psalm 23
Commentary
Lent 4A
We could perhaps call Psalm 23 a kind of utility player among the songs in the Hebrew Psalter. Here we are on the fourth Sunday of Lent in the Year A Lectionary but by the time we get to late April in 2026 and hit the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Psalm 23 will put in…
Psalm 95
Commentary
Lent 3A
We’ve all heard about stories, plays, TV shows, or movies that conclude with the proverbial “happy ending.” Probably because we prefer happy endings, we gravitate to story lines that provide one. I myself have never heard of anyone speaking about an “unhappy ending” and you get the feeling that this is because filmmakers and novelists…
Psalm 121
Commentary
Lent 1A
At a conference I attended recently, a woman who works as a psychologist and counselor addressed the topic of trauma in conversation with the Book of Psalms. She related a story from decades ago when her then-boyfriend became paralyzed following a devastating biking accident. In the midst of her grief and sorrow over this turn…
Psalm 32
Commentary
Lent 1A
Although like most Woody Allen films the movie Crimes and Misdemeanors has more than a few comedic moments, in the end the movie is also quite chilling. The more comedic moments in the film involve a hapless documentary filmmaker named Cliff Stern (played by Allen). Cliff’s life is in some ways falling apart. His marriage…
Psalm 99
Commentary
Transfiguration Sunday
The Lectionary gives us two choices for a psalm lection on Transfiguration Sunday in Year A. Both Psalm 2 and Psalm 99 work the same side of the street in terms of celebrating God as the ultimate King and then also the kings of Israel in Jerusalem who are God’s chosen representatives, who serve as…
About Scott Hoezee