Prompt 1
"And God said, Let light be! And there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good."
— Genesis 1:3-4 (KJ3)
Write a short paragraph describing your favorite kind of light — sunlight, starlight, candlelight, or firelight. How does it make you feel? What can you see because of it?
Prompt 2
"And the man called names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every animal of the field."
— Genesis 2:20 (KJ3)
Invent five new animals and name them. Describe what each looks like, where it lives, and why you chose that name. Draw a picture of your favorite one.
Prompt 3
"Blessed are the peacemakers! For they shall be called sons of God."
— Matthew 5:9 (KJ3)
Write about a time when you helped two people stop arguing or when someone helped you make peace with a friend. What happened? How did everyone feel afterward?
Prompt 4
"Observe the birds of the heaven, that they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather into granaries, yet your heavenly Father feeds them."
— Matthew 6:26 (KJ3)
Spend five minutes watching birds or another animal. Write down everything you observe — how they move, what sounds they make, what they seem to be doing. End with one thing they teach you.
Prompt 5
"And Noah did so, according to all that God commanded him, so he did."
— Genesis 6:22 (KJ3)
Imagine you have to build something very important that will take a long time. What would it be? Who would help you? Write about starting the first day of building.
Prompt 6
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
— Matthew 7:7 (KJ3)
Write a letter to someone wise asking them three important questions. The questions can be about anything you've always wondered. Then write one answer you might receive.
Prompt 13
"And the serpent said to the woman, Dying you shall not die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, even your eyes shall be opened, and you shall become like God, knowing good and evil."
— Genesis 3:4-5 (KJ3)
Write a scene where a character faces a temptation that contains partial truth. The most dangerous lies are wrapped in truth. Show how the character recognizes — or fails to recognize — what is true and what is twisted.
Prompt 14
"If you do well, is there not exaltation? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is toward you; but you should rule over it."
— Genesis 4:7 (KJ3)
Personify an emotion or temptation as a creature "crouching at the door." Write a dramatic monologue or short story where your character must face this creature. What form does it take? How does the encounter end?
Prompt 15
"But I say to you, Love your enemies; bless those cursing you, do well to those hating you; and pray for those abusing and persecuting you."
— Matthew 5:44 (KJ3)
Write from the perspective of someone trying — and struggling — to follow this command. Show their internal conflict honestly. This is not about succeeding easily; it's about the difficulty of radical love.
Prompt 16
"No one is able to serve two lords; for either he will hate the one, and he will love the other; or he will cleave to the one, and he will despise the other."
— Matthew 6:24 (KJ3)
Create a character who serves two masters — literally or figuratively. Write the moment when they realize they must choose. Use dialogue and internal monologue to show the weight of the decision.
Prompt 17
"And the rain came down, and the rivers came up, and the winds blew, and fell against that house; but it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock."
— Matthew 7:25 (KJ3)
Write about a "storm" in someone's life — not weather, but circumstances. Use the extended metaphor of building on rock vs. sand throughout. Show both what the storm destroys and what it reveals.
Prompt 18
"And Jesus said to him, Allow it now, for it is becoming to us this way to fulfill all righteousness."
— Matthew 3:15 (KJ3)
Write about a moment when someone powerful chooses to humble themselves. A king serves a servant. A teacher learns from a student. A parent asks forgiveness from a child. Explore why such moments feel both uncomfortable and sacred.
Prompt 19
"The sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were good, and they took wives for themselves from all those whom they chose... they were mighty ones which existed from ancient time, the men of name."
— Genesis 6:2, 4 (KJ3)
This mysterious passage has inspired countless interpretations. Write a piece of speculative fiction exploring this moment in history. Who were the "sons of God"? What were the consequences of this mingling? Build a world.
Prompt 20
"And Jehovah repented that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved to His heart."
— Genesis 6:6 (KJ3)
Write a meditation on divine grief — or on the grief of any creator over their creation. This could be theological reflection, a poem, or a story about an artist, parent, or builder who grieves what their creation has become.
Prompt 21
"For narrow is the gate, and constricted is the way that leads away into life, and few are the ones finding it."
— Matthew 7:14 (KJ3)
Write a story or allegory featuring literal gates and paths. Your character must choose between a wide, comfortable road and a narrow, difficult way. What makes the narrow path worth taking? Avoid easy answers.
Prompt 22
"Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one flesh."
— Genesis 2:24 (KJ3)
Write about leaving — the necessary leaving that precedes new beginnings. Explore the tension between honoring where you came from and becoming who you are meant to be. This could be about marriage, vocation, or any significant life transition.
Prompt 23
"I indeed baptize you in water to repentance; but He who is coming after me is stronger than me, whose sandals I am not able to lift."
— Matthew 3:11 (KJ3)
Write from the perspective of John the Baptist — the forerunner, the voice preparing the way. Explore what it means to have a crucial role that is not the central role. How does one find meaning in pointing toward someone greater?
Prompt 24
"But why do you look on the chip that is in the eye of your brother, but do not see the beam in your eye?"
— Matthew 7:3 (KJ3)
Write a story with an unreliable narrator who criticizes others for the very faults they possess. Let the reader see what the narrator cannot. The revelation should be gradual, and the ending should offer a moment of possible self-recognition.
Prompt 25
"And God said, let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness... And God created the man in His own image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female."
— Genesis 1:26-27 (KJ3)
Write a theological and literary analysis of the Imago Dei. The KJ3 preserves the plural "Us" and "Our." Explore the implications of humans bearing divine image. What does this mean for human dignity, creativity, and responsibility? Engage with multiple interpretive traditions.
Prompt 26
"And He said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. And Jehovah God said to the serpent... I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
— Genesis 3:13-15 (KJ3)
Write an essay on the Protoevangelium — the "first gospel" in Genesis 3:15. Analyze how this passage has been interpreted across Jewish and Christian traditions. How does this seed of promise grow through the biblical narrative? Use close reading of the KJ3 translation.
Prompt 27
"But I say to you, Everyone looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
— Matthew 5:28 (KJ3)
Write a philosophical essay on the ethics of intention in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus consistently moves from external action to internal disposition. Compare this moral philosophy with other ethical systems (virtue ethics, deontology, consequentialism). What are the implications of judging the heart?
Prompt 28
"Do not think that I came to annul the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to annul, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, Until the heaven and the earth should pass away, not one iota or one point shall pass away from the Law."
— Matthew 5:17-18 (KJ3)
Write a scholarly exploration of the relationship between continuity and transformation in religious tradition. How does Jesus claim to fulfill rather than abolish? Apply this hermeneutical principle beyond Christianity — how do traditions preserve themselves through reinterpretation?
Prompt 29
"And Jehovah God formed the man out of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul."
— Genesis 2:7 (KJ3)
Write a comparative literary analysis of creation narratives. Examine the Genesis account alongside other ancient Near Eastern creation myths (Enuma Elish, Atrahasis). What is distinctive about the biblical account? How does the KJ3's literal translation illuminate the Hebrew concepts of neshamah (breath) and nephesh (soul)?
Prompt 30
"Therefore, you be perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect."
— Matthew 5:48 (KJ3)
Write a sustained theological meditation on divine perfection as a human calling. The Greek τέλειος (teleios) suggests completion or maturity rather than flawlessness. How does this command function as both impossible demand and gracious invitation? Engage with theological traditions on sanctification, theosis, and moral development.