HESEDIM

*Can a revisiting of the public observance of The Pentacost enrich the lives of people worldwide?* We discuss in Episode Episode 115: OBSERVING THE PENTACOST of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What importance do our ancestors play in constructing and maintaining the rubric of our societies?* My trip to Africa and the people I meet reinforces the greatness of our ancestory. These experiences are covered in Episode 114: THE LIVING ANCESTOR of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*Should the government put cap on fuel taxes? What benefits could this have on stimulating the economy?* Follow the discourse in Episode 113: FUEL PRICES of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*How does Jesus' closing remarks at the the of his ministry position love and forgiveness as pivotol to the Christian identity?* We deconstruct this message in Episode 112: FORGIVNESS of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What are the commercial opportunities that exist for those living inside and outside of the Africa?* We explore the vast potential in Episode 111: BUSINESS IN AFRICA of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

What does the viral video of protest in Lusaka show about the role of rebellion in establishing social justice? We discuss the recent events in Episode 110: REVOLUTIONS of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Is it difficult for you to visualize how Africa can be rich in mineral wealth and yet its people are poor? We discuss your role in changing these dynamics in Episode 109: PRECIOUS STONES of the Hesedim Podcast.

*Does it seem, that during this Holy Week, that the media has descended unto a media circus?* With the evident global instability, we explore in Episode 108: A TIME FOR REFLECTION of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*In or observance of Good Friday, can we take the time for confession and contrition instead of condemnation?* Let is fix the world but let us begin with ourselves. We discuss in Episode 107: GOOD FRIDAY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*Do you believe in the goodness of power or in the power of goodness? That choice will influence how you respond to the coverage of the war between Russia and Ukraine.* We examine these beliefs in Episode 106: THE POWER OF GOODNESS of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Can a person or country be so blessed that their blessing is their problem? This oxymoron is discussed, using DRC as case, in Episode 105: BLESSINGS of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

What can the happy Kawoma Community School in Zambia teach us about activism and volunteerism for the benefit of children and their education? Can we make donations to save lives rather than to take lives? We discuss on Episode 14: ACTIVISM of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

What lessons can Caribbean and African Countries do to expand productivity and social investments in priority sectors? I relate this to my recent tours in Zambia in Episode 103: SUSTAINABLE INDUSTRIES of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

As Russia wages war against Ukraine, the world stands at an inflection point to settle the following? Should we support the fight against inequality or should we support the fight to defend property? We develop the discussions in Episode 102: THE RUSSIA - UKRAINE WAR of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What are the lessons on family life that we, as Jamaicans, can learn from our African ancestory?* We discuss in Episode 101: AFRICAN HERITAGE of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

What is the role of the Church in supporting the educational advancement of youth in Zambia and Jamaica? We discuss in Episode 100: THE CHURCH AND THE YOUTH of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Do you agree with Peter Espeut has described the Jamaican public as in response to the Floyd Green's lack of accountability in breaking Covid-19 protocols? The debate is analyzed in Episode 99: THE SUPINE PUBLIC of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Do the fervent responses to last week's podcast, highlighting the exploitative way that financial institutions handle the poor, suggest urgent need for transformation? We continue to interact with the comments in Episode 98: THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY (PART 2) of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

What significance will the revelations that some of the wealthiest companies today benefitted from the atrocities of chattel slavery? Let's deconstruct in Episode 97: THE LEGACY OF SLAVERY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

While trying to register for my TPIN (Tax Payer and Identification Number) in Zambia I recognized the importance of technology in driving the development of societies and economies. We discuss in Episode 96: THE SMARTPHONE of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*How can powerful tools like air travel and the internet widen and narrow the developmental and economic gaps worldwide?* As I return to Zambia I explore in Episode 95: THE WEALTH GAP of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What are the lessons learnt from the career and influence of Desmond Tutu Archbishop conscience and spiritual leader of South Africa? Are there lessons that we can use for 2022 and for Jamaica?* The New Year's message is discussed in Episode 94: THE ARCHBISHOP of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What would drive black power protestors painted tar on the crucifix with the image of Jesus?* It was not sacrilege but protest against the European captures of Jesus and appeal for the mission of the church to bring the grace and power power of Jesus on the lived reality of oppression and marginalization of the black and brown people's of the Caribbean and the world. We explore in Episode 93: OPPRESSION of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What do the incidents of goat thieves behavior after the police recover stolen loot and government senators walk out protest against the opposition say about our need to build capacity to negotiate and build peace in society?* We highlight in Episode 92: ENTITLEMENT of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How does the text of Romans 22: 1-3, awaken our senses to the systems of this world that perpetuate disparities in development? This is explored in Episode 91: THE WORLD'S MOLD of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*How does the treatment of African countries in the wake of the omicron Covid-19 variant relate to the message of the Advent that rulers be brought down from their thrones for the humble to be exalted, the hungry to be filled with good things and the rich sent empty away?* This week's message calls for the great reversal of fortunes in Episode 90: THE MAGNIFICAT of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*Do you think the difficulties and disappointments we are experience are necessary to life?* The word of scripture is that God works in all this for our good. This lesson inspired from life in Zambia is covered in Episode 89: LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How does the Epistle of Philemon prepare us to protest one of the most intolerable acts of humankind? In a time of great inequality and when the dignity of ordinary people is being trampled upon, we take the lessons of Apostle Paul which calls for a new spirit of brother- and sisterhood to counter the deepening social stratification in EPISODE 88: SLAVERY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Why is caring for human beings both necessary and challenging? Why should we prioritize caring for the homeless, mentally ill and vagrant? In this week's podcast I advocate for institutional mechanisms to care for the needy, including the churches roles and structures to this end. But before we being this message we discuss a related and pertinent question from Reverend Omar Morrison. All this and more in Episode 87: THE NEEDY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

On this 1st Sunday in November, we reflect on our service to others using Jesus words, "for this as much as you did to the least of others my brothers, you did it to me." We bring to mind in Episode 86: ALL SAINTS DAY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How can the recent scandal involving the death of 5 persons, including 2 in some kind of human sacrifice present a call for reflection repentance and renewal? Join us as we begin the change where we are in Episode 85: SCANDAL of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*In 1816, 15 enslaved Africans comandeered their master's boat at Port Royal and sailed it to hait to gain their freedom from slavery. 200 years later what lessons can we garner about Jamaicans determination, capacity and dignity as we search for that city of refuge?* We celebrate in Episode 84: ESCAPE TO FREEDOM of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

I held diamond gems and chunks of copper stones for the first time in Zambia this week. But does this value convert into social investment into the community as private sector extracts it wealth? We discuss in Episode 83: THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How does the book of Romans relate to the current cultural disorientation of Jamaican youth? This is highlighted in Episode 82: THE HUMAN CONDITION of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What is God really like? Exodus 34:6-7 gives a core testimony of the character of Yahweh.* We reflect on this testimony in Episode 81: THE TRUE NATURE OF GOD of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

In light of the Trial of 33 accused persons of the breakaway of the Clansman Gang, what can we learn from Ecclesiates 8 about the importance of speedy trial and accountability of wicked acts against others? We analyze in Episode 80: THE WICKED of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How does the recent resignation of the Minister of Agriculture and the alleged criminal activity of the Acting President in Haiti tell demonstrate about how we can become our own worse enemies?* We reflect in Episode 79: SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

One question I often get from those who know of my travels to Zambia is how safe is Zambia. I take this opportunity in the first of a series to correct our misconceptions about Africa by focusing on safety and security. This and more in Episode 78: THE MOTHERLAND (PART 1) of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper. Two corrections in the Episode are Jamaica is 11000 sq km not 1100 and a mine produces 500000 tonnes of pure copper not 500.

How does the story of Isaac leaving his home due to famine become our own story as we navigate hardship and vulnerability? We discuss this theme in Episode 77: THE WELL OF REHOBOTH of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

What can we learn from Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King and Ghandi about the role of passive resistance in fighting oppression in our world, even today? We explore in Episode 76: WHEN SITTING DOWN IS STANDING UP of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Where can we find meaning and understanding of your life and the essential role of God in it? The book of Psalms as one of the Wisdom Writings allows us to reflect on the moral ordering of the world and of God.* This analysis is covered in Episode 75: THE KING OF GLORY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*What lessons can we learn from - the deed of kindness from a Japanese woman to Hansel Parchment during the Olympics and the special clerical appeals for peace after elections in Zambia - about the showy display of righteousness admonished by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount?This lesson is explored in Episode 74: RIGHTEOUSNESS IN SECRET of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How does the recent attempts on the life of the Prime Minister in St. Vincent and the Grenadinea demonstrate people insisting on utilizing their right to be wrong? We discuss these and other instances in Episode 73: THE RIGHT To BE WRONG of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Does the adversity, poverty and misery of how so many live, renders the idea of faith in God redundant? This is discussed in Episode 72: THE VALIDITY OF FAITH IN GOD of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

As prices have increased and wages are stagnant, I've often had to reassure of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount where he says "so not worry about what you shall eat or drink or with what you shall be clothed. Seek ye first the Kingdom of Good and all these things will be added to you." We temper the pervasive anxieties in Episode 71: THE REASSURANCE of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

On the eve of my move to Zambia, I reflect on Jeremiah's words that God delights in kindness, justice and righteousness and not in wisdom, strength and riches.* I juxtapose the world's misplaced hierarchy of values against life's true ultimate values in Episode 70: JEREMIAH'S LAMENT of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

How can we use the Psalms 118 reference to the rejected stone becoming a chief cornerstone, in building our gratitude despite the ups and downs of life? We explore the Psalm and Jesus' subsequent references in Episode 69: A PSALM OF THANKSGIVING of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

*How and why does the wilderness, as mentioned in the opening song of 2nd of Isaiah, offer an alternative path for those with a quiet and moral courage?* We juxtapose the Biblical and modern scenarios in Episode 68: THE WILDERNESS of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

Hope do we cope individually and collectively in the midst of life diminishing, life denying, life distorting and life destroying realities? We explore in Episode 67: LIFE AND DEATH of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

At a time when men have come into bad press with stories of spousal violence, predatory behavior and neglect of children, it is truly a tough time to be a man. But today, this Fathers Day we celebrate the value and importance of fathers in Episode 66: THE BLESSING OF FATHERHOOD of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.

If you could get by without it, get away or get ahead without playing by the rules, would you do the right thing anyway? We focus on approaching life in a principled way in Episode 64: EXPEDIENCY of the Hesedim Podcast by Reverend Dr. Garnett Roper.