Matthew 5:27-32 is not a passage I've been looking forward to preaching. There are a few disclaimers I want to give on literal interpretations of this passage and how it has been weaponized in the past. Jesus addresses abuse, objectification, and the issue of true heart transformation. He is addressing a community of people who have accepted the call to follow him. What does it look like for Christ followers to live into their community in such a way that their marriages are strengthened because of it? What does a community look like that upholds the value of women in such a way that helps men stop objectifying them, not through shame but through lifting up God's good creation in them? Sex is cheapened in our culture to being about fulfilling one's own desires. How does the church shift from speaking against that and actually lift up the beautiful gift if deep intimacy God created sex to be?