Arthur John Gossip

Arthur John Gossip

6 Sermons
Arthur John Gossip, born 1873, died 1954, was a Scottish preacher and professor whose eloquent sermons and profound faith made him one of the most celebrated ministers of the Free Church of Scotland in the early 20th century. Born on January 20, 1873, in Glasgow, Scotland, to Robert Gossip and Agnes McFarlane, he graduated with an M.A. from the University of Edinburgh, where he was shaped by the preaching of Alexander Whyte at St. George’s Church. Licensed as a Free Church minister in 1898, he served several congregations—Forfar (1898–1907), St. Matthew’s in Glasgow (1910–1918), and Beechgrove Church in Aberdeen (1918–1928)—before becoming Professor of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology at the University of Glasgow from 1939 to 1945. His World War I service as a chaplain in Belgium and France further deepened his pastoral perspective. Gossip’s preaching gained lasting fame through his sermon “But When Life Tumbles In, What Then?” delivered in 1927 at Beechgrove Church, days after the sudden death of his wife, Annie Morton, whom he married in 1907 and with whom he had one daughter. This sermon, blending raw grief with unshakable hope, is often cited as one of the 20th century’s greatest, published in his book The Hero in Thy Soul (1928). His other works, like From the Edge of the Crowd (1924) and The Galilean Accent (1926), showcase his literary flair, drawing from poetry, fiction, and scripture with a rare dramatic intensity.
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