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Scott Hoezee

Scott Hoezee is an ordained pastor in the Christian Reformed Church and 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). He is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI.

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Thus Saith Google

The volume had fallen behind a row of books in one of my office bookcases--I must have set it on top of a row of books and, at some point, it had gotten knocked to the back of the bookcase. That's where I found it laying on its spine, a distinct layer of dust covering the edges of its yellowed pages. The volume is my copy of The 1979 Hammond Almanac, which during my freshman year of high school I…
December 1, 2010
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No Health?

Even before I read Matthew Lundberg's essay "Tripping over Adverbs" in the February edition of Perspectives, I had planned to write this little reflection for the Lenten Season. What follows may be something of a counter-weight to Lundberg's reflections on how some of our Lord's Supper liturgies seem to require more of a pumped-up faith than we may feel able to accomplish. Making sure you are "truly sorry" for your sins and that you "sincerely believe" in Jesus before taking…
March 1, 2010
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What the Shepherds Said

Some years ago a psychologist named Jonathan Haidt published some very intriguing data on what he called "elevation," which is the opposite of disgust. We all know that there are any number of things that disgust us or cause us to feel revulsion. When we witness hypocrisy, cruelty, and betrayal, we recoil--there are even certain physical sensations we experience when feeling disgusted such as a tightening in our chest, a clenching of our jaws, perhaps even a flutter of indigestion…
December 1, 2009
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Calvin’s Enduring Sense

The world has changed so dramatically in the half-millennium since John Calvin's birth that one suspects the old Reformer would be merely baffled and dumbfounded were he able somehow to see and observe life as we now know it. Calvin was never at a loss for words, but our fast-paced, technological society--and the ways that ethos has influenced also the churches that continue to teach Calvin's views on Scripture--could just be enough to render even John Calvin at least temporarily…
June 1, 2009
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Signs of the Times?

"Sodomy Is a Crime Against God and Nature." So declares a church sign that my wife drives past each morning on her way to work. Now I know what you're thinking: criticizing church signs is hackneyed and is any way a little like the proverbial "shooting fish in a barrel." To some these signs are just the height of religious silliness, hardly worthy of serious concern, much less serious commentary. Even given the fact that few people expect much from…
March 1, 2009
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The Desert

DECEMBER 2008: INSIDE OUT by Scott Hoezee In the desert prepare the way for the LORD. Isaiah 40:3a My neighbor did it again. The weekend after Thanksgiving I saw my neighbor across the street scurrying around his yard, using a large ladder to access also the upper reaches of the three trees in his front yard. Once the sun set that evening, the reason behind his busy work was revealed as the trees in his yard were lit up by…
December 16, 2008
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Crying for Strangers

When Tim Russert died suddenly in June, I felt like I had lost a friend. Millions of people felt that way, and it's not that unusual a phenomenon when someone famous--whose face and voice are a common presence in one's home--disappears from our lives. In this case, since I am something of a political junkee, I absorbed Russert's insights with great interest across the last ten to fifteen years in no small part because Tim was often uncannily insightful. Even…
August 1, 2008
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The Shattering Word

Scott Hoezee In my line of work, I think about preaching seven days a week, and for hours on end at that. After a while, someone like me can forget that even churchgoing folks don't ponder preaching nearly so often. And if that's true of regular attenders of public worship, one can only imagine how seldom thoughts about sermons cross the minds of those who rarely (if ever) show up for Sunday services. What's more, most preachers labor in relative…
April 1, 2008
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The Guest Pastor

We begin with strangers. Seminaries and church communions vary in terms of how they prepare young men and young women to become preachers, but in most cases seminarians begin by serving as guest preachers (or "pulpit supply" as it has rather inelegantly been put in my denominational tradition) in local congregations. In my case, I was licensed to preach following my first full year of academic study at seminary. Looking over my record book, I see that from the time…
February 1, 2008