I’ve been delving a little into some of the capabilities of the AI tools that are becoming more and more available. At first it was just a curiosity, but I’m actually finding the image generation capabilities quite useful for my adult Sunday School class teaching. For decades now I’ve been using my computer as a tool for teaching (e.g. PowerPoint) and I’ve been able recently to utilize AI to generate background images for the lessons. I decided in this post to show the images that I’ve used so far, talk a little about getting AI to generate them, and talk a little about the lessons that went with them.

Just to be clear, the background is not exactly a critical part of lesson preparation. It’s just the image that appears behind all the text and scripture that I use in the lesson. I used to use template design backgrounds for my lessons, but I’ve recently started trying to use a photograph or image that is somehow related to the topic at hand. I used to search the internet for an image that I thought might work and only recently have I realized that AI can generate a custom image for me that fits my ideas for a background image.

I’m using Google’s Gemini AI interface. The first image I had it create for me was to illustrate the water jars that might have been used when Jesus changed water into wine at the wedding in Cana (John 2). My initial prompt was “John 2:6 says ‘Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.’ Draw me an illustration of what these jars might have looked like. They should be outdoors without any visible plumbing systems.” All the images were square and I tried basically the same prompt multiple times adding such things as “make it widescreen format, first century Galilee, etc.” The images I got are shown below.

I ended up using image 2 for the background. John 2:9-11 says, “When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.“

The next image generation project I tried used this prompt: “John 4:46-50 describes first century Cana in Galilee. A Roman official came to Jesus and asked him to come heal his son who is gravely ill. Produce a picture of this conversation.” Gemini told me “I’m still learning how to generate certain kinds of images, so I might not be able to create exactly what you’re looking for yet. Also, I can’t help with photorealistic images of identifiable people,…” Apparently it didn’t like the use of the proper name of Jesus. So I changed the prompt to “Produce a painting illustration of a first-century Roman official asking for help from a Jewish man in Cana of Galilee.” I kept adding to the prompt to try for widescreen vs. square, and to get ages of men that I felt looked most appropriate. Here are the results. I ended up using image 5.

John 4:51-54 tells us that after the conversation with Jesus, the Roman official headed back home: “As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household. This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.“

My third foray into image requests was to accompany Jesus’ healing of an invalid man at the pool of Bethesda in John 5. My prompt to Gemini was “In the first century A.D. the apostle John wrote, in John 5:2-5, ‘Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids — blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.’ Please illustrate this scene in a widescreen 16:9 ratio format.” I then added, “The pool lies at the bottom of some steps and people are laying near the top of the steps. The scene is largely outdoors, but with the five roofed colonnades around the pool.” Here are the four images that I received in the process, and I chose to use image #4.

The passage tells us, “Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.“

The next passage for which I used Gemini to create an illustration was from John 9 – “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.” My prompt to Gemini was simply this: “Show me a picture in widescreen 16:9 ratio of a first century Jewish blind man washing his face in a public pool.” I tried twice but never could get a widescreen image. I ended up using the second image.

John 11 tells us that Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead after he had been buried for four days: “So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.’ When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out.’ The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, ‘Unbind him, and let him go.’” In working with Gemini I tried a number of prompts to try to get an image that I liked but was never really satisfied with any of the results. My prompts were, “Show me a widescreen (16:9) image of a first century Jewish burial place with a person wrapped in grave clothes walking out of it.” I added, “According to eyewitnesses, the man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.” I kept adding that his hands, feet, and face should be covered, and there should be witnesses. I even changed it to use the word mummy. Here are all the images I got and ultimately used image 6, but was not happy with it!

The next lesson series was on the life of the prophet Elisha told in 1 and 2 Kings. The first image I needed was of the call of Elisha by his predecessor, Elijah, as told in 1 Kings 19:19-21. The text tells us, “So he [Elijah] departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, ‘Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.’ And he said to him, ‘Go back again, for what have I done to you?’ And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.” So, my prompt to Gemini was, “Show me an image of a 9th century BC jewish farmer plowing a field with a yoke of oxen. Another man is walking alongside him and is draping his cloak over the farmer’s shoulders. Make this image in a widescreen 16:9 format.” I went with what I got, but was still struggling with obtaining a widescreen image (which fits my computer screen better).

The next illustration was to set the scene for 2 Kings 4:1-7: “Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.’ And Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.’ Then he said, ‘Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.’ So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another.’ Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.'” My prompt to Gemini was this: “I need a widescreen format (16:9 ratio) illustration of a Mediterranean home from the 6th century BC that has a table with a lot of stone or clay containers sitting on it.” I got the first image below and told Gemini that I needed a picture with more jars in it, and received the second image which is the one I used.

The next image was generated from the prompt, “Show me a widescreen (16:9 ratio) picture of a 6th century BC middle eastern home with a small room on the roof that has a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it.” This was to illustrate 2 Kings 4:8-10: “One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, ‘Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.'”

The next image was to illustrate Naaman, the man Elisha healed of leprosy. My first prompt was rejected: “Show me a picture of a 6th century BC middle eastern man with leprosy bathing in a river. Make it an elongated picture for widescreen projection (16:9 ratio).” I presume it was because Gemini won’t show someone bathing? At any rate, the second prompt (Create an illustration that depicts the story of Elisha, Gehadi, and Namaan from 2 Kings 5. Make it an elongated picture for widescreen projection (16:9 ratio).) generated this image.

Either Gemini is being upgraded and improved, or I’m getting better at writing prompts, but I’ve been having some success with getting something usable without having to add much more detail.

I loved this image of the chariots of fire surrounding the Syrian army as described in 2 Kings 6:15-17. Here’s the prompt – “Please give me a widescreen format (16:9 ratio) image of the scene depicted in 2 Kings 6:15-17 ‘When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, ‘Alas, my master! What shall we do?’ He said, ‘Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ Then Elisha prayed and said, ‘O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.’ So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’ The time period is from about 650 BC in Israel near the town of Samaria.”

This one came with an added description from Gemini: This image captures the ancient Israelite city of Samaria, circa 650 BC, under siege. A terrified Israelite man is shown looking out over the city walls, the surrounding plain teeming with hostile horses and chariots. The surrounding hills are ablaze with a dazzling display of fiery chariots and horses, a supernatural manifestation, while beside him, Elisha stands with a serene composure. Samaria’s walls and structures are detailed, showing the typical architecture of the era. The surrounding landscape captures the harshness of the region, with dusty terrain. The image uses a color palette reflecting the sun-drenched landscape of the ancient Near East. It is a dramatic scene that highlights the contrast between fear and spiritual calm, with a cinematic quality conveying the historical context and the religious significance of the event. The image aims to capture the raw emotion and awe of the event, emphasized by the contrast between the brutal siege and the unearthly display of heavenly power.

My current series of lessons is on various people of faith in scripture: Noah, Joshua, Rahab, David, John, and Stephen. Here are the first three images. Interesting that Noah’s ark ended up with a floating observation deck!

Thanks for coming along with me on this foray into image creation using Google’s AI!