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