Shows
Pres HouseThe Sinner's Prayer ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsLENT 2025
Text: Luke 18:9-14 (NRSV)
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beatin...2025-04-0617 minPres HouseBent Over, Made Straight ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsLENT 2025
Text: Luke 13:10-17 (NRSV)
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Woman, you are set free from your ailment.” When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising God. But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath, kept saying to the crowd, “There are si...2025-03-2311 minPres HouseHarvest Time ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsLENT 2025
Text: Luke 10:1-12 (NRSV)
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if...2025-03-1614 minPres HouseHagar, Sarah, And Abraham: Oppressed And Oppressor ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsText: Genesis 16:1-16 (NRSV)
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bore him no children. She had an Egyptian slave-girl whose name was Hagar, and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave-girl; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her slave-girl, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife. He went in to Hagar, and she conceived; and when...2025-02-0918 minPres HouseAdam And Eve: Blamed And Booted ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsText: Genesis 3:1-24 (NRSV)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; for God knows that when yo...2025-01-2617 minPres HouseThe Promise Of Truth (Advent 1) ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsText: Jeremiah 33:14-16 (NRSV)
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness."2024-12-0113 minPres HouseLook Up ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsText: Hebrews 12:1-3 (NRSV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not...2024-11-0314 minPres HouseMake Good Trouble ~ Rev. Nii Addo AbrahamsText: Mark 11:1-11, 15-19 (NRSV)
When they were approaching Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately as you enter it, you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden; untie it and bring it. If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ just say this, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here immediately.’ ” They went away and found a colt tied near a door, outside in the street. As they were untying...2024-10-1315 minPres HouseLife In Community ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsText: Acts 6:1-7
Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. And the twelve called together the whole community of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should neglect the word of God in order to wait on tables. Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task, while we, for our part, will devote ourselves to prayer and to se...2024-09-1513 minPres HouseA Very Present Help ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Psalm 46:1-3 (NRSV)
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.2024-08-2516 min
ASCEND PodcastS2 - E12 - Expert Session - Nii Abrahams (Butler University)Nii Abrahams from Butler University joins co-hosts Jared Tippets and Eric Kirby to share his deep knowledge, wisdom, and insights on how campuses can increase their retention and student success efforts!Since Fall 2022, Nii Abrahams has served as the inaugural Director of the First Year Experience at Butler University in Indianapolis, where he partners across the 4 campus divisions to ensure all areas work cohesively to create a culture of well-being with intentional systems that cultivate belonging and connectedness for all first-year students on campus. He is extremely passionate about helping college students and young professionals discover, develop...2024-07-1151 minPres House"Rescue me from danger" ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Matthew 14:22-33 (NRSV)
Immediately he made the disciples get into a boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a...2024-02-2515 minPres HouseThe Mountaintop ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Mark 9:2-9 (NRSV)
Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his clothes became dazzling bright, such as no one on earth could brighten them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us set up three tents: one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” He did not know what to say, for they were...2024-02-1014 minPres HousePeace Amid Chaos ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Psalm 85:8, 10-11 (NRSV)
Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
for he will speak peace to his people,
to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.
* * * * *
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
righteousness and peace will kiss each other.
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.2024-01-1908 minPres HouseFamily Ties ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Mark 6:1-6 (NRSV)
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Then Jesus said...2024-01-1914 minPres HouseWhen Humans Unravel God's Plans for Justice ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Exodus 5:1-2, 7:14-23 (NRSV)
Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, so that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness.’ ” But Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should heed him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go."
* * * * *
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh's heart is hardened; he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; stand by at the ri...2024-01-1916 minPres HouseAn Unseen Unraveling ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Luke 19:1-10 (NRSV)
He entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried down...2023-12-2815 minPres HouseUnraveled by Hope ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7 (NRSV)
The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me bring a little bread, that you ma...2023-12-2815 minPres House"Is there room for one more?" ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Acts 10:1-16 (NRSV)
In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God. One afternoon at about three o'clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, “Cornelius.” He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” He answered, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. Now send men t...2023-12-2814 minPres House"What do you need?" ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Job 2:11-13 (NRSV)
Now when Job's three friends heard of all these troubles that had come upon him, each of them set out from his home—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They met together to go and console and comfort him. When they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him, and they raised their voices and wept aloud; they tore their robes and threw dust in the air upon their heads. They sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to hi...2023-12-2612 minPres HouseTransforming the Body ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Romans 12:1-8 (NRSV)
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober ju...2023-12-0113 min
Higher Ed Demand Gen PodcastEp. 60: Improving 1st Year Experience & Student Retention // Higher Ed Demand Gen - Nii AbrahamsFirst-year students are a critical audience for institutions of higher education. They are making decisions about whether to stay enrolled, and their experiences in their first year can have a lasting impact on their academic success and overall well-being.
Even if first-year students are not engaging in extracurricular activities or other campus opportunities, they can still have a positive experience if they have a good experience in the classroom.
Nii Abrahams is the Director of First Year Experience at Butler University, a new position that aims to address this issue. We discuss how he plans to serve first year...2023-11-2933 min
ButlerONE: The College First-Year Experience PodcastDirector of the First Year Experience Nii Abrahams & Friends: Purpose of the Podcast, Burnout, & When Things Don’t Go According to PlanThe introduction episode of ButlerONE’s Summer 2023 limited podcast series, “The Struggle Was Real.” This episode we introduce the purpose of the podcast, meet our student co-host Gaby Perez, and podcast producer, Isabel Villanueva, and discuss our interesting transition stories. 2023-06-2924 minPres HouseTap In ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Romans 6:1-11 (NRSV)
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with...2023-04-2516 minPres House"Who are you looking for?" ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: John 20:1-18 (NRSV)
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” Then Peter and the other disciple set out and went toward the tomb. The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reac...2023-04-0616 minPres House"What do you see?" ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Matthew 21:1-11 (NRSV)
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately. ” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
“Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on...2023-03-2914 minPres House"How do we begin again?" ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: John 3:1-17 (NRSV)
Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother's womb and be bor...2023-03-0315 minPres HouseStory ~ Nii Addo AbrahamsSermon text: Hebrews 11:32-38 (NRSV)
And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to...2023-02-1714 minPres HouseBWAP Reflections 2023 Part 2Lydia Larsen - "The Cost of Paradise"
Aurora Kuelbs - "Deep Roots"
Mei Hippe - "Deep Love"
Kevin Lee - "What the Great Commission Didn't Tell Me"
Madelyn Peppard - "Three Kings Day, a Four-Day Celebration"
Nii Addo Abrahams - Closing2023-02-0723 minPres HouseBWAP Reflections 2023Nii Addo Abrahams - Opening
Jas Jones
Sam Marrese-Wheeler
Laura Hyde - "Unexpected Connections"2023-02-0716 min
The BUBeWell PodcastS4E4: FYE With NiiNew Director of the First Year Experience, Nii Abrahams, joins the hosts to discuss the importance of connections, mentorship, and giving yourself grace through a student's first year & beyond. Ashton & Micah share about their own FYE - can you relate to their stories? Let us know @BUBeWell on Instagram.2022-10-2723 min
Disrupting MinistryBONUS Episode: Staff MeetingA lot of times when we get into ministry, we place the pressure on ourselves to be the ones who make the change, who bring about something new. When, in fact, if we just remembered that God is about that work of doing something new already, then we get to actually watch what's emerging through the Holy Spirit's work and in a context. -Rev. Abigail Visco RusertPart One—The Gathering(0:00-2:22)Host Megan DeWald invites her colleagues at the Institute for Youth Ministry, the Rev. Abigail Visco Rusert and Carmelle Beaugelin, into a reflective conversation on...2021-02-1743 min
Disrupting MinistryStill AbidingWe were on a path that we thought we knew how to do, and we needed to have that pushed so far aside that there really was room for the Holy Spirit to come in and do something new. And that's what wound up happening! Even what we're doing now is nothing of the pieces that we put down on paper in that process and everything of the spirit of it. -Rev. Meredith KeseleyPart One—Rockin' the Suburbs(0:00-4:36)Host Megan DeWald sets the stage for understanding the context in which Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in...2021-02-1041 min
Disrupting MinistryViva la Iglesia!If we want to keep the dignity of a person, it's not just giving them handouts, it's empowering them to do something good for themselves and for the community. So that's where we're kind of leaning towards— empowering youth to see and to understand this new world that their parents have brought them in. And then to have those young people influence more young people. -Rev. Eliseo MoralesPart One—Movement(0:00-4:19)Host Megan DeWald sets the stage for understanding the context in which Esperanza Viva Iglesia Cristiana in Norwalk, California is developing a new form of y...2021-02-0341 min
Disrupting MinistryThe Church at the HospitalTo try and try again and reiterate and pivot and invest in something like the Log College Project—that shows so much faith in this idea that relationships and faith and young people matter to the congregation. And if that's not God building something in the community, I don't know what is. -Kelsey LambrightPart One—From Tragedy to Transformation(0:00-5:04)Host Megan DeWald sets the stage for understanding the context in which Calvary Episcopal Church in Rochester, Minnesota is developing a new form of youth ministry through the Institute for Youth Ministry's Log College Project.2021-01-2937 min
Sow What with Anna McGuireThe Un-American Dream with Nii AbrahamsFrom the earliest stages of our lives, we're sold this idea of "THE" American dream. My friend, Nii Abrahams, challenges us in this conversation to question the status quo, and to look more introspectively on what the American dream actually produces in our lives.If you like to laugh, reflect, and to be challenged, this conversation is for you!EPISODE 12 // Why Is It So Hard to Be Present?https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sow-what-with-anna-mcguire/id1527068301?i=1000496497661FREE RESOURCES:www.annamcguire.co/resources2021-01-2834 min
Disrupting MinistryCentral Avenue, MiddletownI think that was really liberating, the first time that we heard from the voice of Princeton that 'we expect you to fail, and it's okay! And we will learn from that failure, and "fail forward" is a thing'... And so to really benefit from the innovation process or the design process, you have to embrace that value, or it doesn't work. -Lisa KauferPart One—More Than a Single Story(0:00-5:07)Host Megan DeWald sets the stage for understanding the context in which the First Presbyterian Church of Middletown, Ohio is developing a new form of...2021-01-2034 min
Disrupting MinistryCoppin is Poppin'And in his application, he proceeded to explain that, while we don't have young people or teenagers as part of our membership, or their parents necessarily being a large part of our membership, our young people are the young people in the community, and they are fully our young people. -Carmelle BeaugelinPart One—The South Side(0:00-4:02)Host Megan DeWald sets the stage for understanding the context in which Coppin Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church is developing a new form of youth ministry in the South Side of Chicago through the Institute for Youth Ministry's Lo...2021-01-1337 min
Disrupting MinistryEverything Is Youth MinistryIt's really interesting to me that this project that William Tennant did with young people, to me, it's youth ministry. To me, Princeton Theological Seminary’s founding was a youth ministry project. And so, I thought, ‘okay, if we're supposed to do something, that's in line with our mission, vision, and values, why not go back to our founding?’ Arguably, our founding was via youth ministry. Let’s lean into that. -Rev. Abigail Visco RusertPart One—Introducing: Disrupting Ministry(0:00-6:36)Host Megan DeWald introduces the Rev. Abigail Visco Rusert, Director of the Institute for Youth Ministry a...2021-01-0639 min
Being Church in the Time of COVIDProtest and Pastoral IdentityCan protest be considered a form of worship? How can we carry the fullness of our stories into our leadership? The Rev. Jon Robinson from St. Peter's AME in Minneapolis, Minnesota shares how doing ministry changed in the wake of George Floyd’s murder, occurring just blocks from his church. Scholar Rev. Dr. Montague Williams speaks on the role of post-racialism and colorblindness, and rising ministry leader, Nii Addo Abrahams invites us to consider the tensions between personhood and pastoral identity. 2020-08-0448 min
The Literary EnneagramEnneagram and Reading Journey: Enneagram 5 InterviewTinsley and I have the privilege of introducing you to one of our friends, Nii Addo Abrahams, a Master of Divinity (from Princeton Theological Seminary, no less) and Star Wars nerd. He is a 5 on the Enneagram, and is one of our mutual friends! We hope you enjoy our conversation!
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Christpoint Church11-11-18p - Nii Adote Abrahams - What Do You Have In Your Hand11-11-18p - Nii Adote Abrahams - What Do You Have In Your Hand by2018-11-1242 min