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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.
Mark 10:2-16
Commentary
Proper 22B
Comments and Observations: “Is it OK to smoke while you are praying?” a man once asked a wise old abbot. “Oh no,” the abbot replied. “Prayer must be the whole focus of one’s mind.” Later another person came up to the abbot and asked “Can a person pray while smoking?” to which the abbot immediately…
Psalm 26
Commentary
Proper 22B
Comments, Observations, and Questions to Consider Psalm 26 is the poet’s plea for God’s “vindication.” It pictures a courtroom in which the poet-defendant begs the judge to declare her innocent. In it she insists she’s innocent because she has led what she calls a “blameless life” (1). Yet such a plea seems to clash with…
Job 1:1, 2:1-10
Commentary
Proper 22B
Comments and Observations: Lately I have been doing some reading of books that try to teach people how to become better writers. Specifically these are books to help aspiring novelists hone the necessary skills that might one day help them to garner that much-coveted acceptance letter from a publisher. One essay that I read recently…
Mark 9:38-50
Commentary
Proper 21B
Comments and Observations: Unity is important in preaching and teaching. We drill that message into our seminary students in preaching class. We often refer to the mnemonic device devised by Paul Scott Wilson that can be remembered by the phrase “The Tiny Dog Is Now Mine.” The first letter of each word in that phrase…
Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22
Commentary
Proper 21B
Comments and Observations: There is not much Esther in the Revised Common Lectionary, and few pastors have ever complained or requested more. The Lectionary likewise does little with Song of Songs or Jude, and if you follow only the Lectionary, you would be unlikely to generate a long series of sermons on Nahum or Revelation,…
Mark 9:30-37
Commentary
Proper 20B
Questions to Ponder / Issues to Address: It’s quite a picture: Jesus is walking up ahead of his disciples. Outwardly Jesus is watching the path ahead, minding the curves in the road and stepping over potholes. Inwardly the eyes of his heart are on the cross and on all that was now just ahead of…
Proverbs 31:10-31
Commentary
Proper 20B
Comments and Observations: What are we to make of this conclusion to Proverbs? For a long time some women saw it as a kind of blueprint for life and so were honored if they could be seen as fitting this profile of the “wife of noble character.” Not surprisingly, more recent times have witnessed other…
Mark 8:27-38
Commentary
Proper 19B
Comments and Observations: If you are busy, you must be faithful. In the United States at least, being a kind of holy blur of activity in the church is seen as a key mark of Christian commitment. Busy = Faithful. Woe betide the congregation whose list of support groups, youth opportunities, small groups, and service-oriented…
Proverbs 1:20-33
Commentary
Proper 19B
Comments and Observations: In Plato’s dialogue Phaedrus Socrates tells an ancient Egyptian legend about a king named Thamus and a god named Theuth. Theuth, it seems, was an inventor of great tools and new technologies. One day he showed King Thamus a vast array of his inventions, climaxing with his most recent innovation: writing. The…
Mark 7:24-37
Commentary
Proper 18B
Comments and Observations: Kalos panta pepoieken “He has done everything well.” That’s the bottom line reaction of the crowds that were still thronging around Jesus here in Mark 7, but it seems a bit over the top when you think about it. After all, we’re by no means sure how well-known Jesus’ exorcism of the…
About Scott Hoezee