Is Your Church Built from - Straw, Wood or Stone

August 23rd, 2026
by Evangelist Quinzella Williams

Study Topic

Solid Rock
or straw?

Using the story of the three little pigs, a study on the inner spiritual life - the temple of the Holy Spirit within every believer - and what it's actually built from.

1 Corinthians 3:11 · Built on the Foundation

Discipleship

Discussion Questions

Use these to open up honest conversation in your group, one-on-one, or in your own journaling this week.

The study describes three types of inner churches - straw, wood, and solid rock - which one most honestly reflects the current state of your spiritual foundation, and what specific steps can you take to build on something more enduring?
The author shares that unresolved grief over her mother's death led her to seek comfort in the world rather than in God - in what ways have you allowed unhealed pain to become the building material of your spiritual life?
1 Corinthians 3:11-13 describes fire testing the quality of each person's work - what do you believe would remain standing in your spiritual life if it were tested by fire today, and what would burn away?
The middle pig knew scripture and how to pray but did not know Jesus personally - what is the difference between knowing about Jesus and having an intimate, ongoing relationship with Him, and where do you fall on that spectrum?
The study warns that the wood church is built on good works, habits, and self-reliance rather than genuine transformation - how can a person distinguish between spiritual discipline that flows from a living relationship with God and religious routine that substitutes for one?
The author describes how the wolf provided gifts and resources to the younger pigs as a means of deception and eventual destruction - in what ways does the enemy use comfort, pleasure, or provision to distract believers from building on a solid foundation?

Discipleship

Small Group Guide - Devotional

Deeper reflection questions for small group or personal devotional time this week.

The author's counsel that the Holy Spirit, not personal willpower, produces lasting change challenges common assumptions about spiritual growth - how does this reshape the way you think about overcoming habits, sin, or brokenness in your own life?
The study emphasizes the importance of assembling together as a church community, suggesting that the person next to you may be equipped to help you through your storm - how intentionally are you investing in and relying on your spiritual community, and what barriers prevent deeper connection?
1 Peter 2:4-5 describes believers as living stones being built into a spiritual house - what does it mean in a practical sense to allow yourself to be shaped and placed by God rather than constructing your spiritual life according to your own design?
The author's turning point came through an unexpected encounter with a stranger who showed her scripture about tithing and giving - how open are you to receiving spiritual direction from unlikely or unexpected sources, and what might you be missing because of pride or skepticism?

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

1 Corinthians 3:11

Leader's note: This topic invites people to name real grief, past hurt, and places they've leaned on the world instead of God - territory that can bring up genuine pain. Don't pressure anyone to share specifics. Create a safe, unhurried space, and follow up individually with anyone who discloses something heavy.

Read

Is Your Church Built on Solid Rock?

This study uses the familiar story of the three little pigs as a framework to examine the inner spiritual life - what it calls the "church on the inside." Using three types of building materials - straw, wood, and solid rock - it challenges each of us to honestly evaluate what our personal spiritual foundation is made of, and whether it will hold up when the storms of life arrive. The "church" here isn't a building. It's the inner spiritual life - the temple of the Holy Spirit that dwells within every believer.

The Straw Church

A straw church is built from unresolved pain, past hurts, fear, rejection, and anger. It looks like a life built from brokenness, seeking comfort in the world rather than in Christ. After losing her mother at age 11, the author turned to the world to fill a void that nothing else could fill. The world offers empty promises to people who are hurting - and those promises compare nothing to what Jesus actually offers.

The Wood Church

A wood church has the appearance of religious activity - attending services, knowing scripture, performing good works - but lacks genuine personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Religious habits without heart transformation cannot withstand life's pressures. The middle pig in the story knew how to pray, read the Bible, and knew scriptures, but he didn't know Jesus for himself. There's a real difference between knowing about Jesus and actually knowing Him.

What is your inner temple made of?

The Solid Rock Church

A solid rock church is built on Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone. It's established through an intimate, personal, one-on-one relationship with Him, daily surrender to the Holy Spirit, and active participation in the community of believers. As the author's own pastor told her: "It is not about the praise team. It is not about the people in the church. It is about having an intimate, personal, one-on-one fulfilling and loving relationship with Jesus."

Some stopped attending church during the pandemic, reasoning they could worship alone. But Scripture instructs us not to forsake assembling together - being physically present with other believers matters. The people in your community may be exactly who God uses to help you through your storm.

I would rather go through any storm knowing I've got Jesus on the inside than not have Him.

The storms of life are guaranteed to come. Only what is built on Christ will stand. So ask yourself honestly: is your inner temple made of the straw of past hurts? The wood of empty religious traditions? Or is it built on the solid rock of Jesus Christ?