Let’s put what I’m about to say in the category of ‘news you won’t hear on the news.’

A Harvard study says that participating in religious services once a week or more is correlated with greater longevity, lower levels of depression, more optimism, and lower suicide rates.*

Um, pardon? Yes, that’s right. Participating in religious services once a week or more is correlated with greater longevity, lower levels of depression, more optimism, and lower suicide rates.

Why don’t we hear about these types of studies? I suspect that they go against the dominant narrative of our culture which is increasingly hostile to (genuine) Christian faith—but that’s a discussion for another day.

The point here is that worship isn’t only God-directed; it’s good for you.

Acts 2:42 is often highlighted as a picture of the early church: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

Let’s note a few things. 

First, they “devoted themselves” to these activities. They weren’t haphazard.

Second, they devoted themselves to four specific activities. The gathered church does more than this, but certainly not less.

They focused on the apostles’ teaching (which is preserved for us in the Bible), to fellowship, to the breaking of bread (which we continue to do with Communion), and to prayer.

Let’s think about these activities as they relate to your well-being. In a world with so much darkness, they ground us in the light of Christ; in a world with so much hate, they ground us in the love of God; in a world with so much loneliness, they ground us in a body; in a world with so much despair, they ground us in hope.

God tells us to do things that are actually good for us. Who knew!

He did. And that’s the point.

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

And so do we.

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Notes:

–The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on February 26, 2024.

—*Rebecca McLaughlin unpacks more of the study in her article “News from Harvard: Church-Going Saves Lives” posted on May 23, 2020 here.

—Bible quotes are from the NIV.