"Jesus on Sexuality: Lust vs. Love"

·46 min·4 clips

81% of Christian men have sought out pornography, with the average age of exposure being under nine.

The episode is a sermon by guest speaker Josh, a therapist and care pastor at Reach Church, delivered as part of a series on the Sermon on the Mount. He opens by acknowledging the discomfort many feel when discussing sexuality and invites listeners to notice their reactions without shame. Josh reads Matthew 5:27-32, which covers adultery, lust, and divorce, and explains he will focus largely on sexuality. He notes that the Bible views sexuality as good and beautiful, contrasting with cultural attitudes that often bring shame. Josh discusses how many people lack intentional formation around sex, leading to incomplete views and brokenness. He defines lust as looking at someone to take something that isn't yours, emphasizing it happens internally and harms both individuals and relationships. Statistics are shared from a Barna study: 81% of Christian men have sought pornography, with 67% using it monthly, and average age of exposure is 8.6. Josh stresses that shame fuels sexual struggles and advocates for curiosity instead. He apologizes for how the church has often ignored women's sexual struggles, mentioning failed attempts to launch women's healthy sexuality groups. The sermon connects lust to broader issues, citing that over half of divorces involve sexual betrayal and one in three women experience sexual assault. Josh explains Jesus's hyperbolic language about tearing out eyes or cutting off hands as a call to personal responsibility, not literal action, and critiques tendencies to externalize blame onto women. On divorce, he contextualizes Jesus's teaching as protecting women in a society where men could divorce freely, and warns against rigid interpretations that harm vulnerable individuals. The episode concludes with practical invitations: therapy, men's healthy sexuality groups, resources like 'Unwanted' by Jay Stringer, and an upcoming panel on talking to kids about sex.

As heard by us

A pastoral sermon that looks beneath sexual struggle to the longings it can hide, while pushing shame out of the room.

Reach brings sexual struggle into the open through Josh, a guest speaker whose counseling work gives the sermon a grounded pastoral weight. In a church-service setting, he moves from cited figures about sexually explicit images among Christian teens and young adults toward the…

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Why you'd press play

You want a candid church sermon on lust that leaves room for curiosity, honesty, and hope.

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