Honest to God?

The early church in Acts “had all things in common” and distributed what they had “as any had need.” This sermon by Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers at First Congregational Church in Norman, Oklahoma takes that language seriously at a time when “socialist” is used as a trigger word in nearly every campaign ad. It looks at Acts 2 and Acts 4, who Luke was writing for, and why commentaries so often soften these passages for preachers. From there it moves to distributive versus retributive justice, the national debate over health care and the social safety net, and what it might mean for everyone to have enough to live in dignity. It closes with the common good, Godspell, and a Bob Dylan song, and a charge to preachers to preach the passage they would rather skip.

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47, with a look at Acts 4.

Chapters (approximate)

• 00:00 - Scripture reading: Acts 2:42-47
• 00:55 - “Socialist” as a trigger word
• 03:15 - Acts 2 and 4 next to “from each according to ability, to each according to need”
• 05:30 - One heart and soul: people over possessions, and who Luke was
• 08:15 - Empaths and narcissists, scarcity as a lie, and the safety net
• 10:40 - A God of distributive justice, not retributive violence
• 13:00 - Wonder, and what it asks of us (benevolence giving at church)
• 15:45 - What the commentaries say, and what else might be going on
• 18:00 - A peculiar people: the extra coat and the new creation
• 19:30 - The common good, “Day by Day,” and “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall”
• 20:45 - Closing charge: “blessed are those who make good trouble”

Plenty Is Not Enough

Rev. Dr. Barbara Boyd, guest preacher at First Congregational Church of Norman, UCC -Oct 18, 2026Scripture: Philippians 4:10-13Guest preacher Rev. Dr. Barbara Boyd, retired Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma and retired Presbyterian Church (USA) clergy, picks up where last week's reading left off, with Paul's words on having plenty and being in need. A troubled boy on a Texas ranch who grabs two watermelons, Ruth gleaning in the fields, and the hunger here in Oklahoma lead to a harder question. Paul learned to be content, but did Jesus ask for something more? Barbara preaches against the text and leaves us with one of Tom Boyd's favorite sayings: if I have two chairs and you have none, I am a thief.00:00 A Path of Light: Opening Prayer02:04 Thirty-Four Years Ordained03:10 Scripture: Philippians 4:10-1304:17 Jake and the Two Watermelons08:31 Plenty and Not So Much12:15 Ruth Gleans the Fields14:35 When Plenty Is Not Enough18:06 Preaching Against the Text19:57 Four Ways to Live with Wealth21:16 The Jesus Path: Want Less24:40 If I Have Two Chairs

The God GapRev. Dr. Robin Meyers, First Congregational Church of Norman, UCC — October 11, 2026Scripture: Philippians 4:4–9Rev. Meyers opens with a prayer for his country, then looks at the word "heretic" and why it keeps coming back. Drawing on Mayflower's years as Oklahoma City's "House of Heresy" and the documentary American Heretics, he turns to the current midterm races, where Senate candidates James Talarico and Adam Hamilton are being called heretics for their faith. He asks why bad behavior gets forgiven while unorthodox theology does not, and reads Paul's words to the Philippians looking for the dogma. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just: think about these things.00:00 A Prayer for My Country01:42 Scripture: Philippians 4:4–902:56 The House of Heresy05:28 The Script Has Been Flipped07:12 Blasphemous, Evil, and Wrong09:17 The God Gap Is Closing12:53 What, Me Worry?14:51 Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy17:34 Duped, Hoodwinked, Bamboozled18:55 Where's the Dogma?21:09 It Was the Company He Kept

An Honest Look at the Ten Commandments
Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers, First Congregational Church of Norman UCC — October 4, 2026

Living in Oklahoma means living in the middle of the culture wars over the Ten Commandments, from the monument on the Capitol grounds to the push to post them in public school classrooms. In this sermon, Robin reads Exodus 20 and takes the commandments one at a time, in their original context, asking what wisdom carries forward and what belongs to a patriarchal ancient world. He looks at idols old and new, why "taking the name of the Lord in vain" is really about lying, the Sabbath as the only commandment called holy, killing and pacifism, theft dressed up as ambition, and coveting as the most American commandment of all. Along the way he sets the Decalogue beside the Buddhist Eightfold Path and argues that what all these moral lists share is the goal of building relationships on trust. The commandments, he says, are signposts and not whipping posts, and trust can't be commanded. It has to be written on our hearts.

Chapters

00:00 Reading: Exodus 20
01:57 The Ten Commandments and Oklahoma's culture wars
04:48 An honest look in context
06:44 What all the moral lists have in common
09:32 1. No other gods
10:32 2. No graven images
12:13 3. The Lord's name in vain, and lying
14:33 4. Remember the Sabbath
16:10 5. Honor your father and mother
17:06 6. You shall not kill
19:04 7. You shall not commit adultery
19:53 8. You shall not steal
21:10 9. You shall not bear false witness
21:56 10. You shall not covet
24:09 Signposts, not whipping posts

Positively Maladjusted

Rev. Dr. Robin Meyers, First Congregational Church of Norman, UCC - Sept. 27, 2026

Scripture: Romans 12:1–8

In the first episode of Honest to God?, Robin takes Paul's call to "be not conformed to this world" into Dead Poets Society, the trial of Socrates, and Jacques Ellul's idea of being positively maladjusted. What does it mean to be what Martin Luther King Jr. called a transformed nonconformist, and what does that look like for one small church in Norman? Barbaric yawps encouraged!

00:00 Look Out World: Romans 12:1–8

01:52 Where's Batman? Growing Up Robin

03:33 Rip Out the Page

05:37 The 33 Most Dangerous Words

07:40 Socrates Corrupts the Youth

09:22 Built for Your Boat

11:08 Sound Your Barbaric Yawp

13:09 Positively Maladjusted

16:37 God Didn't Send a Committee

20:12 Captain, My Captain