A single lit candle in a dark, empty sanctuary with purple paraments on a plain table, the first Sunday of Lent

15 AI Image Prompts

for Lent and Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday is six weeks out and you are the one making the slides. These are fifteen prompts you can paste straight into Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E, Firefly or PCM Imago — one for each Sunday of Lent, three for Ash Wednesday, and two printable pages for the children in the room.

They are written for congregations that keep Lent as a season of honesty rather than gloom. No stock crowns of thorns, no gauzy European Jesus. Where a prompt describes a person, it says first-century Middle Eastern with brown skin, because image models render these scenes as European unless you tell them otherwise — and that instruction is doing real work, so leave it in.

Lent 2027 runs February 10 to March 28

Ash Wednesday falls on February 10, 2027, and Easter on March 28. The five Sundays in between are February 14, 21 and 28, then March 7 and 14. If you want the full calendar, the 40-day arithmetic, or a printable planning sheet, we keep all of that on how long Lent is and when it starts.

Fifteen copy-and-paste AI prompts for Ash Wednesday and the five Sundays of Lent — written for congregations that keep Lent as a season of honesty rather than gloom, with two for the children in the room.

15 of the 15 are available in Spanish — use the EN / ES toggle.

Ash Wednesday (Wednesday, February 10, 2027) 3

The one service of the year that tells the truth about mortality out loud. These prompts stay with ash, dust and a stripped room rather than reaching for a cross — the cross belongs to the week at the other end of the season.

Ashes in an open hand

close-up of gray ashes cupped in an open human palm, warm low light, dark uncluttered background, shallow depth of field, no faces, worship slide composition with space for text on the left

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

The imposition of ashes

a minister marking a cross of ashes on a worshiper's forehead, both people seen from the side, brown-skinned hands, ordinary clothes, documentary photograph rather than staged ceremony, soft window light, no text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

A sanctuary stripped for Lent

an empty sanctuary prepared for Lent, purple paraments on a plain table, no flowers, cool daylight through clear windows, wide worship background with generous space for text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Lent 1 (Sunday, February 14, 2027) 2

The wilderness, and what is refused there. Written toward emptiness and long distance rather than toward a devil with horns, which is what image models reach for unprompted.

Forty days of wilderness

a vast stony desert at first light, one faint path leading out of frame, no figures and no devil, muted ochre and cool gray, wide worship background with space for text

The "no devil" instruction is load-bearing. Ask for wilderness alone and most models add a red horned figure.

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Bread and a stone

a single round flatbread loaf and a smooth gray stone resting side by side on a worn wooden table, plain even light, still life, sermon slide composition with space for text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Lent 2 (Sunday, February 21, 2027) 2

A conversation held at night, and a lament spoken in a mother hen's voice. Both are places the tradition itself hands you expansive language for God, so the prompts use it.

A conversation at night

two first-century Middle Eastern men with brown skin talking quietly by oil lamp on a flat rooftop at night, historically plausible clothing, one small warm flame against deep blue darkness, no halos

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

A hen and her brood

a hen sheltering her chicks beneath one outstretched wing in warm evening light, tender and unsentimental, painterly, worship background with space for text

Luke 13:34 is Jesus reaching for a mother's image of God. Put the verse beside it and the metaphor does its own work.

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Lent 3 (Sunday, February 28, 2027) 2

Thirst, and water given anyway. The woman at the well is named as a theologian in her own right here, not as a cautionary tale — which is how most stock imagery of this scene reads.

Water from the rock

clear water running from a split in a desert rock face across dry stone, bright highlights on the water, arid background, wide worship background with space for text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

The well at noon

a first-century Middle Eastern woman with brown skin standing at a stone well in harsh midday light, a water jar at her feet, composed and unhurried, dignified, historically plausible clothing

She is the first person in John to hold a theological argument and be heard. Ask for composure, not shame.

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Lent 4 (Sunday, March 7, 2027) 2

Homecoming, and mud. Both prompts stay on objects and landscape rather than on a body being fixed, which keeps the week's healing story out of the register that treats disability as a problem to solve.

The road from the far country

a long dusty road running between spring fields at golden hour, seen from inside a doorway looking out, no figures, hopeful, worship background with space for text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Clay and water

a shallow clay bowl of water beside a handful of wet earth on a sunlit stone step, hands just out of frame, simple still life, bright daylight, space for text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Lent 5 (Sunday, March 14, 2027) 2

Extravagance poured out, and bones that start to green. The last Sunday before the week turns — these two carry the most forward motion in the season.

The broken jar

an alabaster jar tipped on its side on a low first-century table, fragrant oil pooling and catching lamplight, no faces, intimate domestic setting

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Bones turning green

bleached bones scattered on cracked ground with the first green shoots pushing up between them, dawn light, painterly rather than grisly, wide worship background with space for text

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Lent with children 2

Printable black-and-white line art. 'Lent crafts for kids' and 'lent clipart black and white' are among the largest measured image-search demands in this season, and a coloring page is the cheapest thing a solo pastor can hand a family.

Coloring page: forty days

simple black and white line art of a plain wooden cross surrounded by a border of forty small empty squares, thick clean outlines, no shading and no gray, printable coloring page for children, portrait orientation

Ask for "no shading and no gray" explicitly. Models add soft fills that photocopy as mud.

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

Family calendar card

a printable black and white calendar card for the forty days of Lent, hand-drawn look, one small simple icon per week, wide ruled spaces for a family to write in, portrait orientation, no color

Also works in Gemini, ChatGPT, Midjourney, DALL·E and Firefly.

How this set is organized

  • Ash Wednesday (Wednesday, February 10, 2027) The one service of the year that tells the truth about mortality out loud. These prompts stay with ash, dust and a stripped room rather than reaching for a cross — the cross belongs to the week at the other end of the season.
  • Lent 1 (Sunday, February 14, 2027) The wilderness, and what is refused there. Written toward emptiness and long distance rather than toward a devil with horns, which is what image models reach for unprompted.
  • Lent 2 (Sunday, February 21, 2027) A conversation held at night, and a lament spoken in a mother hen's voice. Both are places the tradition itself hands you expansive language for God, so the prompts use it.
  • Lent 3 (Sunday, February 28, 2027) Thirst, and water given anyway. The woman at the well is named as a theologian in her own right here, not as a cautionary tale — which is how most stock imagery of this scene reads.
  • Lent 4 (Sunday, March 7, 2027) Homecoming, and mud. Both prompts stay on objects and landscape rather than on a body being fixed, which keeps the week's healing story out of the register that treats disability as a problem to solve.
  • Lent 5 (Sunday, March 14, 2027) Extravagance poured out, and bones that start to green. The last Sunday before the week turns — these two carry the most forward motion in the season.
  • Lent with children Printable black-and-white line art. 'Lent crafts for kids' and 'lent clipart black and white' are among the largest measured image-search demands in this season, and a coloring page is the cheapest thing a solo pastor can hand a family.

On depicting biblical figures. Every story prompt asks for first-century Middle Eastern people with brown skin. Image models default to European features for these scenes unless told otherwise, so the instruction is doing real work — leave it in.

On civic holidays. Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day prompts are written toward remembrance, lament and the dignity of workers rather than national celebration. If your context calls for flag imagery, add it — but the default here is a deliberate choice, not an oversight.

On using photographs of real people. The photo prompts instruct the model to leave faces, skin tone and bodies unchanged. Get consent before you start, not after — there is a prompt for that request in Photos & People.

What to do once you have the image

Generate it at 1920×1080 for ProPresenter or EasyWorship, or 1080×1350 if it is going on Instagram. Ask for space for text in the prompt rather than cropping later — most of these already do. And run the first result past someone before Sunday: models are confident, and confidence is not accuracy.

Two of these are for the children

The last section is black-and-white line art meant to be photocopied: a forty-day cross to color in, and a calendar card a family can fill out at the kitchen table. Both ask for no shading and no gray, because soft fills photocopy as mud.

If you want activities rather than art, we have a whole page of them — five Lent activities for Sunday school, plus five low-prep ideas for younger kids.

If you would rather not make them yourself

Generating an image is free and takes a minute. Making forty of them, in one visual style, while also writing the sermon, is a different proposition.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay to use AI images in worship?
That is a question for your congregation, not for us. What we would say is that the honest version works better than the quiet one: tell people the image was generated, keep photographs of real people out of it unless you have consent, and never let an image do theological work nobody has checked.

Do these prompts work in free AI tools?
Yes. Every one is tagged with the tools it has been tested in, and most work in the free tiers of Gemini and ChatGPT. Midjourney and PCM Imago will give you more control over style consistency across a set.

Why do the prompts specify brown skin and Middle Eastern features?
Because image models default to European features for biblical scenes unless instructed otherwise. The instruction is not decoration — remove it and you will see the difference immediately.

Can I use these for Holy Week and Easter?
There is a separate set for that week. See Holy Week worship graphics AI prompts.

Are these free?
Yes, all fifteen, no signup. If you want finished media rather than prompts, that is what the shop and PCM Complete are for.

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