Owner: Josh Via URL:www.joshvia.com Join Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:02:14 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The travel guide to the ministry of Josh and Tasha Via. Posts include ministry highlights, worship set lists, spiritual and family experiences and devotional thoughts from the Word of God... and of course the occasional video disclosing family mayhem. Site statistics:Click here
Royalty Aside 2007-10-26 13:38:00 I noticed today in a fresh way a unique parallel of the life of Moses with the life of Christ. I guess I’ve seen it before, but today I saw it in a fresh way. I’m reading through the book of Hebrews right now in my Bible study time – such an awesome book that connects the Old Testament with the newer one. These verses jumped out at me.“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25). What struck me in a new way was imagining the vast glamour and royalty of the great Egyptian empire that Moses could have been endowed with his entire life. The son of Pharaoh’s daughter. The prince. That’s a pretty important position. One of prestige and honor. A position that anyone in his right mind would take full advantage of. Instead Moses laid it aside in order to suffer the same fate as his Hebrew brothers and sisters
Update on My Dad 2007-10-25 11:42:00 Most of you know by now that my dad suffered a mini-stroke on Tuesday night after preaching a meeting in Charleston, SC. Amazingly, the doctors don't expect any permanent brain damage. It was really scary there for about 4 or 5 hours in the emergency room, but he has fully recovered and all of the tests are coming back normal. Praise the Lord! Thank you all for praying for him and our family. For those of you who don't know my dad, here's a post that my youngest brother, Jacob, wrote earlier today on our family blog. This should give you some idea of the kind of person Rick Via is and his legacy. "If I were to attempt to describe all that our dad is, it would be something like this:My dad is my hero.He is a man of integrity, who hasn’t used a computer in years and covers the TV with a blanket in a hotel room. He continuously goes out of his way to make sure his heart is guarded. He is completely and utterly committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purit Read more:Update
Ingleside 2007-10-22 21:27:00 We've just returned from a rapid-fire weekend of ministry mayhem. We loaded up the fam on Thursday afternoon and headed to Ingleside Baptist Church in Macon, GA for "Break-out Weekend." It was a cool time of hanging out with old friends, making new friends and leading worship for 100 middle school students each jacked up on early adolescent adrenaline, a natural and much more potent form of Red Bull. My good friend, Fred Broome whom I met while in seminary, is the new middle school pastor at Ingleside, and doing a phenomenal job already. He and his wife Lindsay have 2 kids, Joshua and Anna, both around the ages of Areyna and Ezekiel. Needless to say, the kids had a blast together. And it was great to reconnect with the Broome family. I have a new level of respect for middle school pastors of large churches and I don't envy them in the least bit!! It was a great trip and the Lord worked in a powerful way as a handful of students accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. After
Guest Blogger: Charles Spurgeon 2007-10-17 07:35:00 I really needed this today. God never fails to bring an appropriate word right when we need it - sometimes we just don't listen for it. Maybe you need this today as well."The thought of David's heart at this time was a false thought, because he certainly had no ground for thinking that God's anointing him by Samuel was intended to be left as an empty unmeaning act. On no one occasion had the Lord deserted His servant; he had been placed in perilous positions very often, but not one instance had occurred in which divine interposition had not delivered him. The trials to which he had been exposed had been varied; they had not assumed one form only, but many--yet in every case He who sent the trial had also graciously ordained a way of escape. David could not put his finger upon any entry in his diary, and say of it, "Here is evidence that the Lord will forsake me," for the entire tenor of his past life proved the very reverse. He should have argued from what God had done for him, th Read more:Guest
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Runny Noses 2007-10-15 15:51:00 Though long overdue, Magical Motion Mondays is back. This is the one you've been waiting for, whether you knew it or snot.To the music of "Runnin'" by John Cutler; performed by Pete Simpson
Truth Has Stumbled 2007-10-11 13:51:00 I read Isaiah 59 this morning and the whole chapter just jumped right off the page, especially verse 14. It says, “…truth has stumbled in the public square…” I thought to myself, “Man, this verse has never been more true than it is today.” It speaks profoundly to our culture. All you have to do is walk out the door and you see it everywhere – a culture where truth is relative. A culture of no absolutes. A culture that invites us all to do whatever we want and feel no remorse. It’s true in the political square. Lying and cheating are inconsequential because after all, “It’s just politics.” It’s true in the pop-cultural square. Fourth marriage not working out for ya? No big deal. Try another. Or just steal someone else’s spouse. It’s true among Christians as well. My pastor posted a blog yesterday with a very similar tone. In a recent survey, 85% of Americans claim to be Christians. If that’s true, then we have a serious problem of truth stu Read more:Truth
Return Worship CD Release 2007-10-02 22:05:00 The Return
Worship CD release was over the top! It was amazing! The CD turned out better than any of us could have imagined. You can order it online here. The community of all involved in the project is second to none. Tasha and I feel so blessed to be just a small part of it. Our pastor, Rob Singleton, has some great pics from the weekend on his blog. The weekend worship set consisted of all original worship songs from the Return CD - songs that are becoming anthems at Southbrook Church. PlayList 9.30.071. New in Him (Andy Cherry, performed by Gal Friday)2. How Great Thou Art (Gal Friday)3. King on His Way (Josh Via)4. Sanctify (Josh Via, Dan Rutty, Andy Cherry)5. Pour (Dan Rutty)6. True Vine (Andy Cherry)7. Your Love Does No Wrong (Andy Cherry)8. Return (Andy Cherry) Read more:Release
Guest Blogger: Smooth: A Theology of Discipline 2007-10-01 08:43:00 [My younger brother, Smooth, recently found himself in some difficult and overwhelming circumstances where he was forced to work out his own “theology of discipline.” Below are some of his conclusions that I thought everyone out there in the blogosphere might benefit from, especially you parents. He gave me his permission.]"Let me first preface all of this by saying that we (my wife Kelly and I) are not perfect. We do make mistakes, but I can honestly say that neither of us have ever practiced corporeal punishment while angry. If ever I am angry or overly frustrated with Cana (our 2-year old daughter) for something she has done, we use time out. In fact, time out is the primary form of punishment and discipline that we use. We do believe, however, that there are some situations that call for corporeal punishment. We are also not necessarily criticizing other views. But this is the one we have chosen as we have sought God on it."We have chosen this view not just because it works b Read more:Guest
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Return Worship Hits Tonight 2007-09-29 09:40:00 Tonight's the big night for Return
Worship. Our self-titled CD hits the Southbrook Church store and internet stores tonight. If you're in the Charlotte area tonight or tomorrow, come on out to Southbrook for the CD release party (tonight 6:30pm, tomorrow, 8:30am, 10:00 and 11:30). It's gonna be a phenomenal night of praise and worship. Click here for directions. Read more:Tonight
Windy Gap 2007-09-28 23:14:00 The week with Gaston Christian School turned out awesome. We just returned this afternoon from a few days' getaway at Young Life's Windy
Gap Camp just north of Asheville, NC. Had an awesome time. The first night Tasha and I found a rubber python under our pillows. No one would fess up. I thought it was a pretty sweet prank. Tasha didn't much care for it. The Lord did some really cool things in the lives of the students. Over 200 high school students were there ready for God to speak. Austin Rammell, pastor of Hardin Baptist Church, one of the fastest growing churches in Gaston County, was the speaker for the week. It was awesome to renew the friendship Austin and I had back in Virginia when we were students at Liberty University.Last night was definitely a major highlight. After a powerful message by Austin dealing with pride and humility, many of the students stayed around for at least another hour dealing with sin in their lives on their knees in prayer as we led in an u
Toys Lie Still and What about Election? 2007-09-25 22:41:00 Magic Motion Mondays takes a back seat when we don't have the kiddos. Tasha and I head out tomorrow for Weaverville, NC at the Young Life camp out there. We'll be ministering to a group of high school students from Gaston Christian School - should be an awesome week. Pray for us if you get the chance. All that to say that the kids are in Virginia with my parents this week terrorizing the Via house. Thanks for taking care of them, Mom. I suppose Tasha and I could video us sitting around staring at their toys lying deathly still, but how truly sad that would be indeed! On another note. I'm currently reading the journals of Jim Elliot (Dad, I stole it off your shelf while you were out preaching last night).I love his comments on 2 Timothy 2. "And those who are arguing about foreknowledge, election, and such - read those verses 14-26 and then look how the apostle is willing to leave it a paradox (vv. 25, 26). 'God gives repentance' and 'they recover themselves.' Yes, yes, Read more:Election
Linking 2007-09-20 07:58:00 I'm new to this whole technorati thing, so apparently, if you have me as a link on your blog, make sure you link it as joshvia.com, NOT joshvia.blogspot.com.Somehow they can't work together, and having the .blogspot.com on the end makes it not show up as a claimed blog. I'm not sure why. It seems to be interfering with my old MySpace blog posts?! Maybe someone out there can give me the skinny. Hugs and Kisses. Read more:Linking
A Tragedy, A Legacy, and a Ragamuffin's Commitment 2007-09-19 15:30:00 Today, September 19, is the 10-year anniversary of the tragic death of Rich Mullins. It probably seems random that I know that, but Rich’s music had such an enormous impact on my life as a young Christian musician, it’s hard for me to forget details like that. Rich helped to shape the landscape of the early Contemporary Christian Music industry in a profound way. He defied and challenged traditional taboos, often playing concerts barefooted wearing simply a t-shirt and torn jeans. His lyrics were passionate, frank and honest, openly describing personal and spiritual struggles in his search to know God more intimately. What I love most about Rich’s legacy was the fact that, in the midst of all of his success and accomplishments, he never ceased to keep Jesus Christ, the Gospel and the Bible his central focus. He once commented,Sometimes it concerns me, the number of people who can quote my songs, or they can quote the songs of several people, but they can’t quote the Scrip Read more:Tragedy
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Powered Big Wheels will soon be Obsolete! 2007-09-19 09:16:00 Well, Magical Motion Monday has turned into Wednesday. I knew this would happen eventually. Oh well. Here it is. The much anticipated most recent episode of family fun improv!music - Mat Kearney, "Crashing Down" Read more:Wheels
Sleeping and Drowning 2007-09-14 16:05:00 Today is the birthday of Ivan Pavlov. Remember him from Psychology 101? His famous salivating dog experiment helped to solidify the theory of classical conditioning - that we are conditioned to certain responses as we experience them over and over again. For some extended period of time Pavlov submitted his dogs to a conditioning test. Before every meal, he would ring a loud bell. Then he would bring out the food, the dogs would see it, begin to salivate and Ivan would feed them. After awhile, the dogs would salivate simply from hearing the bell. They were conditioned to know that the food would always follow the bell.As irony would have it, I rescued a drowning puppy this morning from my neighbor's swimming pool. I heard him splashing and carrying on next door so I peaked through the fence to see for myself what the raucous was. My neighbors were still sound asleep, not realizing the danger their pup was in. So I jumped the fence and came to the rescue. True story. It was Read more:Sleeping
What It Must Have Been Like for Nebuchadnezzar 2007-09-10 19:31:00 Here's another biblical reenactment for your Magical Motion Monday. This one is from Daniel 5 - how Nebuchadnezzar went crazy and had a mind like a wild animal. My kids really seemed to have an easy time with this one! Enjoy!
Playlist 9.9.07 2007-09-10 11:19:00 Ridge Church kickoff service was amazing last night.The Levine Center was packed out. Really exciting stuff.Our band played:1. The Time is Now/All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee)2. Let the Praises Ring (Lincoln Brewster)3. Hosanna (Hillsong United)4. At the Cross (Pocket Full of Rocks) Read more:Playlist
Magical Motion Mondays 2007-09-03 08:47:00 I decided that Mondays
would be a good day to post a weekly video clip. So be looking for more to come on MagicalMotion
Mondays!This is a dramatic retelling of Joshua 6. Watch and be totally amazed!
Night of Worship 8-29-07 2007-08-30 14:07:00 Playlist for Southbrook Night
of Worship1. Sanctify (Return Worship - Josh Via, Dan Rutty, Andy Cherry)2. Sing to the King (Billy Foote)3. Yearn (Shane and Shane)4. Lord, You Are (Traditional)5. Carried to the Table (Leeland Mooring)6. Grace Flows Down (Passion)7. Just Fall (Via)8. King on His Way (Return Worship - Via)9. Mighty to Save (Hillsong)
Civil Wars and Fights in the Produce Section 2007-08-27 22:13:00 Ah, yes, the “C” word. Conflict. We all deal with it. Some of us run from it. Some of us thrive on it. Some of us deny it. Some of us love it. We all handle it differently. We all share in that unique human experience in some way.My wife and I have different ways of handling conflict. When the conflict involves both of us, one of a few things happen. One, we’ll shut the door to our room until we work it out. That’s usually the least exciting of the options. Two, we’ll both go jogging and forget the whole thing exists. Three, I’ll turn on the T.V., bake some chocolate chip cookies, brew some Starbucks Sumatra blend, and totally check out. Meanwhile, she’s in the kitchen trying to make sense of my behavior while steam pours from every orifice in her body, wondering if I’ll ever notice that she’s the reason the smoke alarm is going off. Well, that might be a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea. Recently I was reading the book of Joshua and I came across Read more:Civil
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Playlist 8-26-07 2007-08-27 22:10:00 Southbrook Worship Set1. God is Great (Hillsong)2. Glorious One (Steve Fee)3. King on His Way (Josh Via - look for it on the new "Return" worship CD. Stay tuned for more details.)4. Indescribable (Laura Story) Read more:Playlist
Advice For Worship Leaders 2007-08-27 20:48:00 Here's some advice that my 2-year old daughter gave today for other worship leaders. No, I didn't prompt her. Read more:Leaders
Use Them 2007-08-26 06:05:00 Lord Jesus, I pray for all of my friends in ministry today - that You will fill them with Your Holy Spirit. Use them as they preach and teach Your inspired Word, and as they lead Your people in the worship of You, the only Living God. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
Playlist 8-19-07 2007-08-20 08:57:00 The band was tight last night at Ridge. You guys sounded great. Brandi Martin rocked out "Hosanna." Rusty, the sound was the best yet. Chris, awesome message, bro.Highlight verse: "...for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost [me] nothing.”2 Sam 24:24 (HCSB)We played:1. All Because of Jesus (Steve Fee)2. Let the Praises Ring (Lincoln Brewster)3. Hosanna (Hillsong United)4. Carried to the Table (Leeland) *Note to worship leaders: That darn Leeland has a range like the Rocky Mountains. You might want to consider dropping it down a full step or have an alto do it! I didn't do either, but should have!5. At the Cross (Pocket Full of Rocks) Read more:Playlist
Banner Time! Duu Nunna Nuh 2007-11-05 03:38:00 When we pulled up at Daejeon Central Baptist Church yesterday here in Daejeon, this banner awaited us. I'm not sure what they're trying to imply! Read more:Banner
What the heck is Kim Chee? 2007-11-04 07:34:00 Today was our first full day of ministry here in the city of Daejeon, Korea. It's a city of about 1.5 million people and has been recognized as a premier city in all of Asia for its scientific advancements. That means there's a ton of smart people here. It would probably be comparable to the Research Triangle in North Carolina.We had 3 services today. 11:00 - Main Service - Dad preached - 2:00 - Children's service - Another american dude on our team preached - and 4:00 - Youth and college service - I sang and preached. It went really good. We had several people saved in the first service.We played b-ball tonight with some of the youth and college kids from the church. It was awesome. They're all great kids who really love the Lord and have a hunger for Jesus. One of them, Philip, 27, just returned from a year-long mission trip in Bangladesh and he plans to return there in the future as a life-long missionary. It's awesome to see how God is raising up His people outside o
Sleepless in Seoul 2007-11-02 05:56:00 Dad and I finally made it to Seoul
, Korea. The flight was a grueling 14 hours, but we made it. I watched more movies than I ever care to watch in any given stretch of time ever again. With the time difference the way it is, we basically missed Friday altogether. It's 7:00 am Friday morning Charlotte time and 8:00 PM Friday night our time and we're about to hit the sack. We're doing good though. We're at the Hilton for the first night and then tomorrow we'll have a breakfast orientation with the rest of the team, receive our assignments and head out from here.I'm a bit dizzy from the trip and I'm getting frequent waves of nausea from lack of sleep. I can never sleep on airplanes, try as I may. Even with the whole air neck pillow thingy. I gave that up a long time ago. But after tonight, I should be good to go.How to Pray: Pray for the churches and church leaders we'll be ministering alongside - that God will give them wisdom - that we will be as effective as possible. Pray
Korean Worship and The Pastor 2007-11-10 07:45:00 Here's a typical morning celebration at Su-Do Baptist Church just before going out to make some home visits. The pastor is the one with the mic. A wonderful man. The love of Christ just sort of oozes out of him. And people run behind him with serving spoons to scoop up the leftovers. I've learned how to say, "I love you" in Korean
and I keep telling him that for kicks and giggles every time I see him and he laughs. I even told him that from the stage tonight in Korean. Everyone erupted in laughter. He loved it. I could tell.And I can also tell that he enjoys leading worship during this celebration time. He's funny because even during the evening worship he insists on leading additional worship songs after the worship leader is already done. Just in case you missed it the first time, I suppose. Icing on the cake, if you will. Pastor
Rob, I think it would be a sweet touch if you could maybe start leading in some worship at Southbrook after Dan and Return do their thing!!
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