Resources
On this page you will find books from Dr. Tegelhutter, recent sermons he's preached in various places, and other valuable resources for you and your ministry!
What if deliverance does not begin with power—but with resolve?
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If I Perish… is a sobering, hope-filled exploration of the Book of Esther, written for a moment when nations feel divided, voices are strained, and silence is often mistaken for wisdom. Rather than retelling a familiar story for inspiration alone, this book slows the reader down—lingering in the tension, the waiting, the unanswered prayers, and the costly decisions that define authentic obedience.
Through careful biblical reflection, pastoral insight, and an unflinching honesty born of lived experience, Dr. Jim Tegelhutter traces a divine pattern at work beneath the surface of Esther’s story: God positioning people quietly, allowing pressure to mount, and calling ordinary individuals to extraordinary resolve when neutrality is no longer an option.
This is not a book about fearless heroes. It is a book about determined obedience. With reverence for Scripture and deep sensitivity to the weight of our current cultural moment, If I Perish… confronts the reader with uncomfortable questions: What happens when God is silent? What does faith require when safety disappears? And what responsibility rests on those who sense they have been placed “for such a time as this”?
Written through prayer, reflection, and many tears, this book does not offer easy answers or polished conclusions. Instead, it invites readers to stand where Esther stood—between promise and peril—and decide what obedience will cost.
This is a book for those who sense that something is wrong, who feel the ache for deliverance, and who are willing to wrestle with what faith demands when the stakes are real. If I Perish… does not end with resolution. It ends with resolve.
Holy Chaos: Lessons Learned in the Wild About an Amazing, Unpredictable God is a spiritual wake-up call disguised as a comedy sketch and a punch in the gut. Born from decades of sermons preached in real churches to real people facing real storms, this book drags readers out of safe, predictable Christianity and into the wild terrain where God actually does His best work. With the humor of a seasoned storyteller and the force of a prophet who has seen too much to settle for shallow faith, Jim Tegelhutter takes readers through twenty unforgettable encounters—stories where Jesus restores the tormented in seconds, where appetites lead prodigals into pigpens, where unforgiveness chains the soul, and where proximity to God transforms ordinary believers into walking evidence of divine power. Witty, unfiltered, and brimming with biblical insight, this book makes you laugh just long enough for the truth to slip past your defenses and land exactly where God intends. But make no mistake—this is a dangerous book. It dismantles religious polish, exposes idols you didn’t know you were still holding, confronts the quiet compromises that drain spiritual power, and calls the reader back to a faith that is raw, disruptive, and gloriously alive. Holy Chaos is not for the faint of heart; it’s for the believer tired of playing it safe, tired of secondhand Christianity, and ready for a firsthand encounter with the God who refuses to be predictable but is relentlessly faithful. This is discipleship in the wilderness—loud, honest, hilarious, convicting, and saturated with the kind of truth that rearranges the soul. Readers will walk away unsettled, awakened, and hungry for the unpredictable God who meets us in the chaos and rebuilds us from the inside out.
The Absurdity of Faith isn’t your typical “Christian living” book—it’s a full-blown adventure into the gloriously irrational world of Hebrews 11, where ordinary people did outrageously unreasonable things simply because God said so. With humor, punch, and a whole lot of holy sarcasm, Jim Tegelhutter, Ph.D, pulls back the curtain on the “Hall of the Holy Unhinged,” showing how Noah built a boat on dry land, Sarah laughed her way into a miracle, Abraham packed for a trip with no itinerary, and Moses lifted a stick at a sea as if that were a normal Tuesday. Blending biblical insight, storytelling, and modern-day examples like George Müller praying breakfast into existence, this book dismantles the notion that faith should be tidy, polite, or safe. Instead, Jim invites you to embrace a faith that offends common sense, defies logic, and dares to believe God when life looks ridiculous. If you’re exhausted by predictable Christianity and ready to rediscover a bold, joyful, audacious trust in a God who still moves mountains, parts seas, and answers absurd prayers—this is your book.
Wisdom from Straw is a lively, no-nonsense, deeply practical deep-dive into the book of James—written for believers who are tired of shallow spirituality and ready for a faith that can survive car lines, crisis seasons, temptation battles, and Tuesday afternoons. With trademark humor, Greek-and-Hebrew unpacking, Puritan quotes, modern illustrations, and a pastor’s heart forged through decades of ministry, Jim Tegelhutter, Ph.D., turns Luther’s infamous jab about the “strawy epistle” on its head and proves that straw is exactly what the Church needs. From joy in trials to wisdom that must be asked for passionately, from taming the tongue to confronting favoritism, from resisting temptation to rediscovering reverence for a holy God, this book turns James into a field guide for gritty, joyful, boots-on-the-ground Christianity. If you’ve ever wondered how to actually live what you believe—how to grow up in your faith, stand firm under pressure, speak life instead of poison, pursue holiness in a chaotic culture, and find the treasure hidden in everyday obedience—Wisdom from Straw will make you laugh, cry, repent, rejoice, and finally say, “This is the Christianity I’ve been longing for.” It’s theological carpentry: splinters, sweat, sanctification, and surprising joy—all woven into a book that proves God builds His strongest people from the simplest material.
"A Divine Intersection," Foundation Stone Church, Toledo, Ohio
"Effective Prayer," ATM Convergence Conference, Toledo, Ohio
"A Divine Jealousy," New Life Christian Church, Celina, Ohio