This is an ABC News special report. Now reporting, Tom Llamas.
Hey, good evening and we are coming back on the air with new details on the tragic death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant.
ABC News confirming the five-time NBA champion for the Los Angeles Lakers was among five people killed when a helicopter crashed and caught fire in Southern California.
Hi, this is Pastor Roger Jimenez from Verity Baptist Church in Sacramento, California.
I'm just making a quick video because today we heard on the news that a famous basketball player here in California died.
His name is Kobe Bryant and I just want to make a video and a comment about his death.
Obviously, I didn't know this man personally and I know very little about him and I'm not really making a video to comment about his life.
Maybe he was a good guy. Maybe he wasn't. I don't know.
What I do want to comment on the fact is that what we do know about him is that he was very famous and he's very wealthy.
He was healthy. He was strong. He was successful.
He was somebody that the world would probably look at as a success story, someone that they would honor and admire.
And some people I'm sure probably think he was a really good guy.
My understanding was that he died on a helicopter crash alongside with his 13-year-old daughter and other passengers and that he was actually on his way to coach his daughter's basketball team.
So I'm sure that people would say that was a good thing and a nice thing.
The only point that I want to make with this video is this.
The Bible teaches in Matthew 16 26,
And as far as whether Kobe Bryant's in heaven or hell, obviously we don't know that for sure.
I know this.
Several sources have stated that he was a Catholic and if he believes what Catholicism teaches about salvation, then there's no way that he's in heaven.
And we should take this time to just reflect on the fact that life is about more than games and money and success and sports.
We're all going to spend eternity somewhere.
Hebrews 9 27 says this,
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
Maybe you're watching this video and you don't know if you were to die today, if you're on your way to heaven.
I'd like you to know that the Bible says that you can know for sure.
And in fact, in the description of this video, we have a link to another video called The Bible Way to Heaven.
And it explains how you can know for sure you're on your way to heaven when you die.
We would encourage you to watch that because at the end of the day, all that matters is where you will spend eternity and what you have done for eternity.
Thanks for watching.